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Tobacco deal looks good, Oregon says Kitzhaber says state was forced into legal call FROM LOCAL AND WIRE REPORTS SALEM -- Oregon joined a national $206 billion tobacco settlement Friday, ending the state's legal claims against cigarette companies in exchange for payments of $2.1 billion over the next 25 years. "While it is not perfect, it represents progress toward the greater goal of reducing the role of tobacco in our society," Attorney General Hardy Myers said in announcing the decision. Oregon was among the last of 46 states to agree to the deal, which resolves remaining state claims for the cost of treating sick smokers, curtails industry lobbying and limits tobacco advertising, particularly in places like stadiums, malls and video arcades where young people gather. Gov. John Kitzhaber said he was not completely satisfied with the public health reforms in the deal, but said the state was forced to make a legal call -- either pursue its own uncertain lawsuit or take the sure payout of about $80 million a year for 25 years. "We're the tail wagging the dog on this one," Kitzhaber said. "We're following along behind the bigger states. I agreed with our attorney general that it was unlikely we could have gotten as big a settlement on our own." Oregon's lawsuit, which had been scheduled to go to court in April, sought to recoup Medicaid payments to treat smoking-related illnesses. It also contended the industry committed wire and mail fraud, violated the state's Unlawful Trade Practices Act and conspired to restrain trade. Even if the state won, Myers said, the victory could be stalled for years on appeal. Health and anti-smoking advocates were disappointed by the settlement, saying it lacked any provisions to protect people from second-hand smoke and didn't go far enough in its restrictions on advertising. Despite serious reservations, Ellen Lowe of the Anti-Smoking Coalition said the group will work with lawmakers and other officials to see that the money is used for health care and smoking prevention programs. She said lawmakers in their 1999 session "should view the new revenue as an enhancement and not a replacement for existing programs." Wendy Bjornson, project director for the Oregon Tobacco Free Coalition, said the deal would probably raise the price of cigarettes about 35 cents over time, which she said may not be as strong a deterrent to smoking as the 62-cent increase under last year's failed national settlement. "It is not clear that this particular agreement would have a big impact on public health," she said. Oregon will receive its first payment of approximately $74 million by the middle of 2000, and already lawmakers were lining up with ideas for what to do with the money. Kitzhaber said he may want to use the money to bolster the Oregon Health Plan, and fund consumer protection and anti-smoking campaigns. Senate President Brady Adams, R-Grants Pass, is considering using the funds for senior and disabled transportation measures that were part of a highway plan that failed in the 1997 Oregon Legislature. Senate Minority Leader Kate Brown, D-Portland, suggested the funds should be spent on health and human services. Local health advocates argued that the best use of the money was for direct care through the Oregon Health Plan, and indirectly through smoking prevention programs. Kris Wilson, of the American Cancer Society's Medford office, said Friday, "We had some reservations about the settlement, but we're ready to move onward and upward. We'd like to see that money allocated for tobacco control efforts." The nonprofit group has submitted a plan for tripling anti-smoking spending in the state from $8.5 million to $25 million annually. ACS government relations director Jerry Spegman said the society also favors significant support to the Oregon Health Plan. "In fairness that would make sense because this suit originated with the states trying to recover their smoking-related Medicaid losses," Spegman said. Brady Webb, Jackson County Health and Human Services prevention coordinator, said the settlement fell far short of recouping Oregon's medical costs for cancer, emphysema and other smoking-related ills. "It's only $80 million, which really pales next to the $1.5 billion a year that smoking costs our state." Webb said his department hadn't established an official position, but he personally hoped most would go to reimburse Medicaid. Janice Watson, of the American Heart Association in Medford, said the lung, heart and cancer societies had taken an official position: "We're glad to see the tobacco companies' money being spent on discouraging kids from smoking. We'd like to encourage spending some of it on repairing some of the damage to adults who couldn't quit." Attorney General Myers, whose office received the proposal only Monday, said a team of eight state lawyers spent long hours reviewing the documents to come to a consensus by Friday's deadline. Myers acknowledged he was somewhat conflicted about the decision, since he is himself a heavy smoker. "I can approach this with a first-hand sense of the power of this habit," Myers said. "They are purveying a total non-good to the public." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA