Law Commons^™

Constructive Cigarette Regulation, W. Kip Viscusi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Professor W. Kip Viscusi argues for a move away from the adversarial approach to tobacco regulation, an approach that is currently embodied in class action lawsuits and the proposed broadening of FDA regulatory power over cigarettes. In this Article, he suggests that the FDA should take a constructive role in fostering technological innovations to promote cigarette safety, in much the same way that the government currently fosters safety improvements in motor vehicles and jobs. Professor Viscusi claims that the objective of government policy should be to promote informed consumer risk taking-an approach which recognizes that adult consumers have a right …

Smoke And Mirrors: Understanding The New Scheme For Cigarette Regulation, W. Kip Viscusi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Not all the provisions in the proposed legislation favor the states. Others, pertaining primarily to civil liability, are favor able to the financial health of the cigarette industry.

Most important, the legislation would end all present and future actions by state attorneys general. Cigarette companies would escape the potential liability they could face because of an unfavorable ruling about which costs count or because of an unpredictable jury.

The settlement would also preclude all future "addiction" or dependence claims, all class actions, and all claims for punitive damages. Individuals, however, could still sue for past conduct, so that in the …