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Washington Is tobacco industry rhetoric a smoke screen?By BILL ADAIR © St. Petersburg Times, published March 31, 1998 Tobacco companies have become the biggest villain in Washington, likened to everything from killers to communists. So it's a political necessity that the industry oppose any anti-smoking bill Congress considers. Even if the tobacco industry were to like a bill, it must say it is opposed to give the bill a chance of passing. On Monday, tobacco lobbyist J. Phil Carlton blasted a new anti-smoking bill from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., saying it would "impose astronomical price increases on consumers, create a black market and potentially lead to prohibition." Carlton said the Clinton administration and some members of Congress were "more concerned with exacting some sort of vengeance upon the tobacco industry than in enacting a rational, comprehensive solution." Likewise, tobacco's biggest opponents in Congress also are unhappy with the bill, but for the opposite reason. They say it's too soft. "This bill does far too much to protect the industry," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. McCain's proposal calls for a $1.10-per-pack increase in cigarettes over five years, but Kennedy and other anti-tobacco hard-liners would prefer $1.50 or $2. Their comments are part of the jockeying as Congress delves into the details of a national tobacco settlement. The tobacco companies want to pay as little as possible and still be granted limits on liability payments. By contrast, the hard-liners in Congress want the bill to be as tough as possible against the industry. The rhetoric, especially from the tobacco companies, has given the debate an Alice-in-Wonderland quality. Senators say they can't be sure if the industry is truly unhappy or if it is posturing. "Every time there is a proposal, the tobacco industry says they can't live with it," said McCain, which makes him doubt their credibility. Tobacco companies have become so unpopular on Capitol Hill that they are being attacked by Republicans -- the biggest beneficiaries of tobacco campaign contributions. Even House Speaker Newt Gingrich has criticized the industry. McCain's bill, like several others in Congress, would put tough marketing and advertising restrictions on the companies and force them to pay large penalties if goals to reduce youth smoking are not met. In return for giving up those advertising rights, the industry would be given the liability cap. The McCain bill would limit liability at $6.5-billion per year. The bill co-authored by Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., would limit liability at $8-billion. McCain hopes the tobacco companies eventually will endorse what Congress approves, which would eliminate a long fight in the courts. But for now, the industry is condemning the bill. "The proposal takes aim at the tobacco industry, but hits the American people with excessive and regressive tobacco price increases that will ripple through the economy and wipe out thousands upon thousands of jobs among retailers, wholesalers, distributors, tobacco growers and others," Carlton said. The bill also could force tobacco companies to send jobs overseas, Carlton said. McCain, who noted the industry did not help him write the bill, didn't mind the industry's criticism. "Our job," he said, "was to develop the best proposal we could to prevent children from smoking."
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ASHINGTON -- The goal on Capitol Hill these days is to make the tobacco industry unhappy.
