THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, August 27, 1996              TAG: 9608270322
SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A7   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                        LENGTH:   40 lines

LAWYER'S PLAN CALLS FOR TOBACCO FIRMS TO PAY STATES BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO DROP LAWSUITS

A leading anti-tobacco lawyer is trying to generate interest in proposed legislation that would protect cigarette makers from lawsuits in return for billions of dollars in payments.

But so far, he has failed to engage cigarette makers or tobacco foes.

The negotiations by Mississippi attorney Richard Scruggs attracted attention Monday when The Wall Street Journal reported that Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott had agreed to broker such legislation if Scruggs could get both sides to agree on provisions.

Neither Lott, R-Miss., nor Scruggs returned repeated phone calls Monday, but officials in Congress and state attorneys general confirmed preliminary talks.

There is no specific plan yet, but drafts call for the tobacco industry to pay between $6 billion and $10 billion a year for the next 15 years to partially reimburse states for the cost of treating sick smokers - something the nation spends an estimated $50 billion a year doing - and to educate the public about tobacco's risks.

In return, tobacco foes would drop lawsuits against cigarette makers, including 14 state suits that seek reimbursement of Medicaid funds. Also, the proposed legislation would allow cigarette makers to escape Food and Drug Administration regulation - although they would have to follow curbs similar to those placed on the industry last week by the FDA.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. dismissed the talks Monday, saying the proposals ``are completely unrealistic and do not merit discussion.''

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., a leading tobacco foe, told proponents that the idea is a ``sweetheart deal'' that unfairly would prevent average Americans from going to court, a spokesman said.

Minnesota Attorney General Hubert Humphrey III blasted the idea, too. And other states are weighing whether they could recoup enough money to make settling worthwhile. by CNB