The Department of Justice wrapped up its eight-month trial against the tobacco industry on Thursday by dropping its demand that tobacco companies pay for programs to help people quit smoking.

Instead, government attorneys asked the federal judge to force the companies to pay for programs for people who might start smoking in the future. They said this request was consistent with an appeals court decision that limited the types of penalties allowed in the case.

But the tactic, coming on the heels of a decision to seek $10 billion instead of $130 billion in penalties, drew fire. Democrats renewed calls for an investigation into the Bush administration's handling of the case and the leader of an anti-smoking organization who testified on behalf of the government called the move a "betrayal."

Even the tobacco industry derided the development. "It's outrageous. It's ridiculous. This was a $280 billion case that became a $130 billion case that became a $10 billion case that will eventually become a zero billion dollar case," a lawyer for Philip Morris told The New York Times.

Get the Story:
U.S. Won't Ask Firms to Help Current Smokers Quit (The Washington Post 6/10)
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Tobacco Trial Ends, but Not the Arguing (The New York Times 6/10)
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Relevant Links:
Tobacco Litigation - http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/tobacco2

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