And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 29 May 1999 10:25:23 EDT Subject: Tobacco lawsuits To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit from the Arizona Republic @ http://www.azcentral.com/news/0528smoke.shtml Indian nations signal intent to seek damages By Chris Moeser The Arizona Republic May 28, 1999 Native American tribes around the nation are quietly preparing lawsuits that could seek $1 billion in damages from tobacco companies for tobacco-related health problems. The claims likely will be similar to the suits filed by states that netted more than $200 billion in settlements from Big Tobacco, but based on different legal arguments. Former Navajo Nation President Albert Hale says 35 Indian nations have signed onto his lawsuit, which he expects to file in late June or early July in either state or tribal courts. Hale said several Arizona tribes have pledged support, but he declined to name them or say how many had decided to join the lawsuit. He added that Navajo Nation officials are still considering whether to join the effort. Nationwide, Native Americans have the highest rate of smoking of any ethnic group. Almost 40 percent of Native Americans and Alaska Natives smoke, according to a 1995 national survey by the Surgeon General's Office, compared with a smoking rate of about 25 percent nationwide. The Indian Health Service estimates that two out of every five Native American deaths can be attributed to tobacco use. In Arizona, the percentage of American Indian children who use tobacco has been especially disturbing. Twenty-six percent of children ages 14-15 and 33 percent of children ages 16-17 smoke, according to a 1997 survey by the Arizona Department of Health Services. But a 1997 survey by DHS indicated the overall rate of smoking among Native Americans in Arizona is only 13 percent -- far below the national average. Hale said tobacco companies have specifically targeted Indians and other minority groups with marketing and advertising for tobacco products, which some say has caused an increase of smoking on reservations. "It slowly has increased smoking just because of the mass-media approach by tobacco companies," said Gerry RainingBird of the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona. Hale said he noticed an increase in marketing toward Native American groups about eight years ago, when tobacco companies began to sponsor powwows and rodeos. "That was a conscious effort on their part after they found out that minority groups were an untapped market," Hale said. William Maledon, a Phoenix attorney who represents tobacco giant Philip Morris, said the lawsuit, if filed, would be another attempt "to fashion a lawsuit out of nothing." Maledon said he believed a couple of tribes have already attempted similar lawsuits with no success. "I'm quite sure there wouldn't be much of a case," Maledon said. "But I'll wait and see what their theories are. I can't imagine there's going to be much merit to this." Hale, a St. Michaels attorney who also works in Albuquerque, suggested the lawsuits could seek as much as $1 billion in damages. "It is progressing," he said. "I've been traveling extensively throughout Indian Country since January, meeting with Indian leaders and Indian tribal councils and giving them information about this possibility. ... Hopefully, we'll be able to get something for Indian nations. Certainly, they deserve it." Native American communities did not receive any of the $206 billion settlement between 46 states and the major tobacco companies. The agreement does not forbid Indian nations from pursuing their own claims. "It gave Indian nations the option to go after tobacco companies on their own, which is what we're attempting to help them with," Hale said. But the legal arguments will have to be different. One of the main claims states made against Big Tobacco sought the recovery of Medicare and Medicaid costs caused by tobacco use. Unlike the states, the federal government paid for those health care costs on Indian reservations. Steve Berman, a Seattle attorney who represented Arizona and 12 other states in tobacco lawsuits, said Native Americans must come up with another legal theory on which to base their suit. Berman said he is being interviewed to represent one tribe in its own lawsuit, a tribe he declined to name. He also suggested that Hale's estimate of $1 billion was too large. "I do think the Native Americans have a claim," Berman said. He predicted there will be several lawsuits filed against tobacco companies by Indian nations, a strategy he said would be more successful than a joint suit by a cluster of tribes. Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods agrees that the tribes have a good case. But he suggested that they should also consider adopting tough anti-smoking laws and discontinue the practice of selling discount cigarettes on reservations. Many reservations, including those in suburban Phoenix, sell tax-free cigarettes. "If they want the tobacco companies to change their ways, then the tribes should also not be a convenient outlet for discount selling," Woods said. But he added that Native American youth have been bombarded with the same advertising as other children. Nearly one-third of Native Americans ages 16 and 17 are smokers. "The tribal nations were subjected to the same sort of marketing that children outside the reservation were subjected to and yet they don't have any of the benefits of the suits," Woods said. "It's probably something that the tobacco companies should address proactively to see if they couldn't come to some sort of resolution with all of the tribes in the country. If not, I think they will be subjected to lawsuits." Settlement money could be a windfall for some cash-starved Indian communities, particularly those without gaming. Hale estimated the Navajo Nation, one of the largest Indian populations in the country, could get as much as $20 million. * * * Chris Moeser can be reached at (602) 444-8069 or at [EMAIL PROTECTED] via e-mail. Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
