I am writing this letter to explain my opinion regarding the global settlement among the tobacco companies and the attorney generals of our country. I have been interested about the fight against tobacco since I read Civil Warriors. It shocks me that numerous court hearings have been thrown out of court or won by tobacco due to their deep pockets and countless lawyers. Although there have been victories in the past, not enough cases have been won to deeply effect the way tobacco companies operate internally. The money emptied from civil lawsuits has never forced big tobacco to alter the way their companies are run, until now. I believe that this is a battle that is well worth fighting for; my opinion is: the global settlement is the best answer to fight big tobacco.
             Since 1960 endless lawsuits have accumulated the courts against tobacco for various reasons and yet not one significant act has changed the manufacturing of cigarettes. The attorney generals developed a plan to make tobacco pay an much more amount of money than previously in the past along with striking tobacco's artery of their business; advertising.
             "It would pay $368.5 billion over twenty-five years to the Ages, would no longer use human images or cartoon characters in its ads, would run only black and white ads except in adult publications, tear down its billboards, ban vending machines, put $5 billion a year into a fund to pay off sick smokers who sued them..."(pg 266)
             Tobacco has never faced such a massive blow to their production. To let this settlement fall through our hands would be a grave error on our part and of this countries attorney generals. I understand the strife and anger in the hearts of the families who have lost friends or family ones due to tobacco's lies but these people must not let their rage block them from the facts. It has taken 39 years of court battles that have up until now ended in, while lo
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