Philip Morris Has Dossier on Politicians

Philip Morris Cos. has a computerized dossier on federal and state politicians to track personal information, committees and even “cronies,” court documents show. Printouts from the database, called Prometheus, are being sought by the state of Mississippi in its lawsuit against the tobacco industry to recoup millions of Medicaid dollars spent to treat smoking-related illnesses. An attorney for Philip Morris said the cigarette maker voluntarily turned over the database, which hasn’t been operational since 1992 and was never widely used. Still, the company asked a Mississippi judge to declare Prometheus confidential. A review of the database shows it was useful in lobbying legislators to stop anti-tobacco legislation, an attorney for the state said. . . . In a separate development, a cancer-stricken smoker is suing French tobacco company Seita in the first such suit ever against a French cigarette maker. The unidentified smoker is seeking undisclosed damages. Seita said that “there are no serious legal grounds” for the suit.