Thought Leader Forum Focuses on Tobacco Control Efforts 15 Years after Far-reaching Civil Litigation

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – Leading tobacco control experts from RTI International, government officials and advocates will discuss the successes and challenges of tobacco control 15 years after the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) at a thought leader forum at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Oct. 23.

Titled “Fifteen Years after the Master Settlement Agreement: Successes and Challenges,” the forum will be held from noon to 2 p.m. The live webcast panel discussion will begin at 12:30 p.m. and will be archived for viewing online after the event concludes.

The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement — the largest civil litigation settlement in U.S. history — was the result of a lawsuit between major tobacco companies and 46 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories, for recovery of their tobacco-related health care costs. The settlement funds were intended to be used to reduce smoking in the United States, particularly among youth. Despite gaining some ground, thousands of people take up smoking each day.

At the forum, Legacy, the National Association of Attorneys General and RTI will host a Warner Series lecture that brings together attorneys general and public health and tobacco control experts to explore the MSA's successes, challenges and implications for public health policy for years to come.

“The Master Settlement Agreement has led to successful campaigns to curb smoking and a much greater understanding of what strategies are effective,” said Matthew Farrelly, Ph.D., a leading expert in tobacco control research and senior director in the Public Health Policy Research Program at RTI. “However, currently little of the settlement money is going to tobacco control, and we need to identify new ways to sustain effective tobacco control programs.”

The panel includes Farrelly; Mike Moore, former Mississippi attorney general and Legacy board member; Tom Miller, Iowa attorney general and Legacy board member; Danny McGoldrick, vice president of The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids; and Tracey Strader, executive director of the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust.

The forum will be moderated by Lawrence Wasden, Idaho attorney general and Legacy board chair.

The roundtable discussion is part of the Legacy Foundation’s Kenneth E. Warner Lecture Series.

To attend in person, register here. Log in here to view the webcast on the day of the event; registration is required to view the forum online.