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Article: Tobacco's 'get out of jail free' card.(Originated from Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- October 1, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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KRT FORUM
By Richard D. Hailey
With the future of any tobacco settlement clouded by President Clinton's new demands, cigarette makers are keeping their eyes on the prize.
More than anything else, Big Tobacco admits it craves freedom from legal accountability for its actions.
``The only positive, but a key one for us, is to obtain a shield from liability,'' a top tobacco executive told the Washington Post. Cigarette makers are burning for a deal that keeps them out of the courtroom.
In Wall Street parlance, Big Tobacco is willing to pay - or more accurately, pass the costs on to consumers and taxpayers - for the ...