Tobacco marketing restrictions in the multistate attorneys general settlement: Is this good public policy?

After the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a rule to regulate th e marketing of tobacco to children, stares negotiated two settlements of th eir health care reimbursement lawsuits with the tobacco industry. In this a rticle, the author examines the marketing restrictions contained in the sec ond agreement now being adopted into state law. These restrictions are comp ared with those in the earlier, aborted settlement the FDA-proposed rule, a nd the recently adopted European Union directive. The article concludes by suggesting that negotiating a single agreement, offered to virtually all th e stares, that contains both damage payments and marketing restrictions doe s not lead to sound public policy decisions.