| 1964 | U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry issues the first surgeon general report
citing health risks associated with smoking. |
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| 1965 | U.S. Congress passes the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act,
requiring a surgeon general's warning on cigarette packs. |
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| 1971 | All broadcast advertising for cigarettes is banned. |
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| 1972 | Philip Morris's Marlboro becomes the best-selling brand in the world. |
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| 1982 | U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop finds that secondhand smoke may cause
lung cancer. |
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| 1990 | Smoking is banned on U.S. passenger flights of less than six hours'
duration. |
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| 1992 | The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the 1965 warning labels on cigarette
packs does not shield companies from lawsuits. |
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| Feb 1994 | FDA Commissioner David Kessler announces plans to consider regulation
of tobacco as a drug, stating that tobacco manufacturers use nicotine to
satisfy addiction. |
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| 3/25/94 | David Kessler testifies about tobacco and nicotine in Congressional
hearings. |
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| 4/14/94 | Seven tobacco company executives testify during Rep. Henry
Waxman's congressional hearings that they believe "Nicotine is not addictive."
|
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| May 1994 | Scruggs hand carries Brown & Williamson internal documents to
Waxman in Washington. |
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| 5/7/94 | New York Times publishes Brown & Williamson internal documents,
saying they were received by a government official. |
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| 5/12/94 | Stan Glantz at the University of California receives Brown
& Williamson internal documents from "Mr. Butts." |
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| 5/18/94 | Whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand (using the code name "Research")
pays his first visit to Dr. Kessler's office at the FDA. |
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| 6/21/94 | David Kessler testifies in Congressional hearings about the
investiation wether tobacco and niotine should be regulated by the FDA.
|
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| 7/1/95 | Stanton Glantz posts the Brown & Williamson documents on the
Internet. |
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| 12/96 | RJR hires North Carolina lawyer Phil Carlton to lobby the White
House and try to meet with Mississippi Attorney General Michael Moore. |
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| 2/97 | Phil Carlton meets with White House deputy counsel Bruce Lindsey. |
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| 2/97 | The tobacco industry argues in U.S. district court in Greensboro, N.C.,
that the FDA does not have the power to regulate tobacco. |
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| 4/25/97 | U.S. District Judge William Osteen in Greensboro, NC, rules that
the FDA has the authority to regulate nicotine as a drug. The tobacco industry immediately appeals the ruling. |
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| 6/20/97 | The tobacco companies and state attorneys general announce a
landmark $368.5 billion settlement agreement. |
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| July 1997 | Congress includes a $50 billion tobacco-tax credit in a new tax bill.
New taxes paid by smokers will save the industry billions of dollars by
reducing the amount of money companies would owe according to the
settlement. |
|
| 9/11/97 | Senate votes to repeal the $50 billion tax break for the tobacco
industry that was slipped into the tax cut legislation just before it was
passed in July. |
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| 9/17/97 | Clinton announces his position on the upcoming tobacco legislation in
Congress. |
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| 12/4/97 | Cong. Bliley subpoenaes documents from four tobacco companies that are
part of the Minnesota Medicaid case. The documents are released to his office
and to the public later that week. |
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| 12/10/97 | Hearings in Congressional Judiciary Committee on Lawyers Fees in the
national tobacco settlement. |
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| 1/29/98 | Tobacco executives testify before Congress that nicotine is addictive
under current definitions of the word and smoking may cause cancer. |
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| 2/25/98 | Tobacco executives told Congress they would never agree to modify their
advertising and marketing practices unless the lawmakers gave the industry
substancial protection against lawsuits. |
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| 4/1/98 | Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) passes the McCain bill in the Senate Commerce
Committee. The bill gives the FDA unrestricted control over nicotine and is
much tougher than the June 20th agreement. It provides no liability protection
for the industry, just a cap on potential yearly damages. |
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| 4/8/98 | Steven Goldstone of RJR Nabisco announces that RJR is pulling support
for a settlement and complains that the McCain bill will bankrupt his company.
Within hours, the rest of the tobacco industry backs away from the global
settlement. |
