Up In Smoke: From Legislation To Litigation In Tobacco Politics, 2nd Edition
About the Author\ \ \ Martha Derthick retired in 1999 from the Department of Government and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia, where she was the Julia Allen Cooper Professor. She is the author of numerous books on American government, including: Dilemmas of Scale in America's Federal Democracy (editor, 1999); Agency Under Stress: The Social Security Administration in American Government (1990); The Politics of Deregulation (with Paul J. Quirk, 1985); and Policymaking for Social...
Search in google:
Since the 1960s, the government's attempts at tobacco control have operated through standard channels, what Martha Derthick calls "ordinary politics." Legislation was debated in elected legislatures, and after three decades of limited government coercion, adult smoking in the United States dropped by about half. A dramatic shift occurred in the 1990s. David A.Kessler at the FDA reinterpreted his agency's statutory charter intent to regulate tobacco more stringently, while tort lawyers rich from asbestos settlements collaborated with state attorneys general to go after cigarette manufacturers. What ensued - the master settlement agreement - is a story of legislation circumvented and constitutional principles evaded. Up in Smoke is a clearly-written, fast-paced account of one of the most contested issues in American politics. Touching on questions of separation of powers, the roles of interest groups and the legal profession, the influence of money in politics, and government regulation versus individual responsibility, Derthick wonders how far ought a government go in protecting its citizens against their vices? Rhodes College - Stephen Wirls "After reading only the first few chapters, I was convinced that this was certainly one of the most politically dense and rich events in the last few decades. Although the policy problem, regulating the production and sale of cigarettes, seems simple and readily comprehensible, the attempts to address it raise an almost unbelievable number of exciting and serious issues in constitutional government and democratic politics."
\ Stephen Wirls"After reading only the first few chapters, I was convinced that this was certainly one of the most politically dense and rich events in the last few decades. Although the policy problem, regulating the production and sale of cigarettes, seems simple and readily comprehensible, the attempts to address it raise an almost unbelievable number of exciting and serious issues in constitutional government and democratic politics."\ —Rhodes College\ \ \ \ \ Thomas P. ONeill, Jr."Here is a fascinating, well-written case study that introduces the reader to a brave new political world of ambitious state attorneys general, ingenious and fabulously wealthy tort lawyers, crusading regulators, and, of course, scheming tobacco executives. Just as importantly, it forces us to ask whether current efforts to exorcise the demon tobacco have weakened our commitment to self-government."\ —Professor of American Politics, Boston College\ \
