State Goes After Tobacco Companies

State Attorney General Christine Gregoire took on the tobacco industry Wednesday, suing to recover the state’s medical costs for smoking-related illnesses and blasting the Joe Camel advertising campaign.

But major cigarette makers lashed back four hours later, dispatching two attorneys and a public-relations specialist from the East Coast to tell reporters the legal claims will fail and Joe Camel will stick around.

The lawsuit makes Washington the ninth state in the nation - and first on the West Coast - to challenge tobacco giants such as Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds. It names seven tobacco companies, their research divisions and a public relations firm.

“This lawsuit is important to all Washington residents - smokers and non-smokers alike - because smoking pinches our pocketbooks, clouds our health and insurance options, and figuratively and literally affects our heart,” Gregoire said.

The state spends about $706 million a year in direct medical costs related to smoking, Gregoire said.

The lawsuit calls for reimbursement of state expenses for tobacco-related illnesses over the past four decades, though the lawsuit does not specify a figure.

The Joe Camel campaign also drew fire from Gregoire, who contended that such sophisticated marketing campaigns directly target children, “with the certain knowledge that children who use tobacco become the addicted adults of tomorrow.”

“This preying on our youth is to me the most troubling part of the tobacco industry’s tactics,” she said.

, DataTimes MEMO: Cut in Spokane edition.