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Tobacco lawsuits from the past may signal future in fight against opioids

Last century, the vilified names were Philip Morris, Lorillard and Reynolds. Today, it's Janssen, Endo and other drug makers as lawyers and lawmakers pin the blame on Big Pharma the same way they brought down Big Tobacco 20 years ago.

Last century, the vilified names were Philip Morris, Lorillard and Reynolds. Today, it's Janssen, Endo and other drug makers as lawyers and lawmakers pin the blame on Big Pharma the same way they brought down Big Tobacco 20 years ago.

At two news conferences in the last month, the state and every county have announced lawsuits against companies for the way they marketed pain pills, leading to an addiction crisis.

“We're filing suit on behalf of the state of Arkansas against three opioid manufacturers,” said Attorney General Leslie Rutledge last week. “This is a lethal and tragic addiction that is destroying lives in our state.”

Rutledge’s office hired outside counsel to investigate how to go after the firms. She said there's evidence they lied to get doctors to write prescriptions and get millions hooked on pain pills.

Lies leading to addiction is a case that successfully took down another product in the late 1990s.

“We oversee, monitor and evaluate programs that are funded through the tobacco settlement dollars,” said Matt Gilmore, the director of the tiny Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Commission.

For 18 years, it's been this 9-person panel that has funneled millions of dollars coming back to Arkansas after Big Tobacco settled lawsuits over how it marketed cigarettes.

Smoking here is down thanks in part to those programs.

“They’re all focused on health,” Gilmore said. “Some are focused on research. Some are focused on certain health outcomes. Some are focused strictly on tobacco reduction.”

Plaintiffs like Rutledge have that template to follow, but don't expect an overnight change based on what Gilmore has seen over the years.

“It's a constant battle because the tobacco companies have a lot more money than we're given through the settlement,” he said. “We are seeing progress. We're constantly seeing a decrease. So that's a good thing.”

Two of the three drug makers in the attorney general's lawsuit say they plan to fight the allegations.

Local cities and counties have their own cases going against dozens more companies and they are among hundreds of cases across the country. Many of the tobacco cases consolidated ahead of the settlement 20 years ago.

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