Nation IN BRIEF : WEST VIRGINIA : Tobacco Firms Sued for Medical Costs

West Virginia sued 17 tobacco companies in an attempt to recover millions of dollars in health care costs and keep the companies from promoting cigarettes to minors. “For decades, the tobacco companies have gotten West Virginians hooked on their products, taken millions of dollars in profits back to their companies, and stuck West Virginia taxpayers with the bill for the medical care of people made sick by tobacco,” said Atty. Gen. Darrell V. McGraw Jr. West Virginia spends at least $500 million a year for health care for tobacco-related illnesses, and has the highest smokeless tobacco consumption rate in the nation, McGraw said.