Steven F. Goldstone

About the author: Steven F. Goldstone is the chairman and chief executive officer of R.J. Reynolds Nabisco, Incorporated.

In the 1990s, dozens of states filed lawsuits against cigarette manufacturers in an effort to recoup the health care costs of treating smoking-related illnesses. In June 1997, the tobacco industry proposed a global settlement in which they agreed to accept regulation by the Food and Drug Administration, submit to marketing restrictions, fund youth antismoking programs, and pay compensatory damages to states. The tobacco industry is willing to sacrifice capital and marketing freedoms if doing so will resolve the state lawsuits, promote public health, and ensure a measure of future stability for cigarette manufacturers. In the end, tobacco companies should be able to work...