SMOKING - Blog

News Summary

Florida officials recently marked the 10th anniversary of Florida’s landmark settlement with the tobacco industry, which helped spark similar deals across the U.S., the Fort Myers News-Press reported Aug. 21. “It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since the epic battle my father and [former Attorney] General [Bob] Butterworth fought,” said Bud Chiles, former Gov. Lawton Chiles son. Butterworth said Chiles had three goals in pressing for the settlement: restricting advertising aimed at children, truth in advertising about the addictiveness and health consequences of smoking, and compensation for the state’s health costs resulting from smoking. In Florida, money from the settlement helped fund a lauded smoking prevention campaign credited with sharply curtailing youth smoking.