A Book To Make You Think

Abstract

While the US tobacco industry settled the mammoth tobacco suits lodged by the 50 US states, elsewhere in the world the tobacco giants continue their denials and questionable marketing practices seemingly oblivious. From this perspective, the events described in Michael Orey's book seem more like a minor skirmish on the edge of the tobacco control movement than a victory for the combined forces of governments and the public health community. Keeping in mind this minor quibble, Assuming the Risk is a tremendously readable and interesting book. Like the fictional novels of John Grisham, it is the characters who drive much of the book's plot. As with most events that change the course of a movement, the US Master Settlement Agreement truly began years earlier in a small and poor county of the poorest state in the United States. Thus, starting with the Willie Horton case, which would serve as the linchpin and common reference point for the proceedings that followed, readers are led through the many cases and events that would culminate, years later, with Mississippi's decision to file suit against the US tobacco industry, a move subsequently followed, probably most notably by Minnesota, by the remaining 49 states. As Orey proceeds with his discussion, readers are introduced to a growing cast of characters, their every personality quirk and foible apparently disclosed by the author. Thus we are told of Merrill Williams' quasi-neurotic tantrums, Jeffery Wigand's difficult temperament, and Mike Moore's career-long determination to do good, as well as many other thumbnail portraits. Where Orey leaves readers wanting is in not discussing the merits of the US states' litigation-driven strategy. Is the $246 billion Master Settlement Agreement really a victory for public health? People are now questioning whether any deal made with the tobacco industry can ever be consistent with the interests of public health. While discussing the role of Congress in legislating the first multi-state agreement, Orey never addresses the apparent lack of coherence exhibited by US politicians on the issue of tobacco control. After reading this book, you get the feeling that the US public and politicians feel that no further legislative or regulatory action is necessary now that the tobacco industry has been forced to pay. Perhaps one cannot fault Orey for sticking to what he does best, which is describing the situations, the people, and the maneuvering that lead to US tobacco's first major setback. Written in a journalistic style that eschews legal jargon in favor of plain language, this book will be of most interest to those outside the legal profession. If not a must read, at least a good read.