ANN ARBOR—Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore, who filed the first state lawsuit calling on tobacco companies to reimburse the costs of treating smoking-related illnesses, plans to speak at the University of Michigan Sept. 19.

Moore will discuss “The Tobacco Settlement: What the Fight Was About” 3:30-4:30 p.m. at the U-M School of Public Health. The presentation is sponsored by the U-M Tobacco Research Network and the Health Care Policy Task Force of the American Medical Association Medical Student Section at U-M.

Mississippi’s lawsuit resulted in a $4.1 billion settlement, which the state plans to place in a Health Care Trust Fund to improve the health of the citizens of Mississippi. Kenneth Warner, director of the U-M Tobacco Research Network, noted that Mississippi’s settlement was significant because it was the first entity, organization or individual, to collect money from the tobacco industry in a lawsuit.

Following Mississippi’s lead, a $240 billion settlement was reached that covered all of the states. The National Association for State Attorneys General has details on the settlements at http://www.naag.org/tobaccopublic/library.cfm

In 1994, the same year Moore filed the tobacco lawsuit, he received the National Association of State Attorneys General’s Wyman Award, honoring him as the most outstanding attorney general in the country. As a result of the lawsuit, he has received the National Law Journal’s Lawyer of the Year award and Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year honor.

Moore, a Democrat in his fourth term in office, is deeply concerned about the failure of most states to devote significant portions of their settlement money to combating youth tobacco use.

Michigan Attorney General Jennifer Granholm will introduce Moore. Her office is coordinating a Michigan tour by Moore, including talking to medical students at Wayne State University and Michigan State University, a legislative breakfast in Lansing and a joint press conference including Granholm and Moore.

For more information about the Michigan Attorney General’s office, visit http://www.ag.state.mi.us/.

Brian Alexander, a medical student at U-M who helped spur the visit, said the Health Policy Task Force of AMA Student Section hopes the event will bring reality and relevance to current health policy issues.

The Tobacco Research Network (http://www.umich.edu/~umtrn/) is a collection of U-M scholars, spanning many disciplines in numerous U-M schools and colleges, who share an interest in tobacco- and nicotine-related research.

To learn more about Moore and his office, visit http://www.ago.state.ms.us/

Moore’s talk is free and open to the public. It will take place in the School of Public Health Building I auditorium; U-M SPH is on central campus on Observatory Street near East Medical Center Drive. A reception will follow the discussion.

[Central Campus map, Public Health I upper right center]

News and Information ServicesUniversity of Michigan

Mike MooreSchool of Public HealthKenneth WarnerJennifer Granholmhttp://www.ag.state.mi.us/http://www.umich.edu/~umtrn/http://www.ago.state.ms.us/