TOBACCO MAY BE PARTYING TOO SOON

摘要

ONLY A DECADE AGO the tobacco industry seemed untouchable.It intimidated politicians,won every case filed against it,and wowed investors with awesome financial performance.Then a surge of lawsuits hit-the so-called Third Wave of litigation-that toppled Big Tobacco's defenses,ended cigarette makers' long history of mutual cooperation,subjected them to once-unthinkable levels of regulation,stalled their stocks,and sent reverberations throughout American politics and culture.It was one of the most important chapters in U.S.business history.