Clinton May Alter Tobacco Settlement

WASHINGTON —  President Clinton for the first time Friday began hashing out with aides how he wants to change the sweeping tobacco peace accord--and he’s being urged to make it more expensive for the industry.

At a briefing late Friday by White House aides, Clinton was presented with a memo recommending changes in the agreement negotiated between tobacco companies, state attorneys general and private anti-tobacco lawyers.

Although specific details weren’t provided, Clinton was told that there is not enough money in the $368.5-billion agreement to accomplish its goals--including sharply reducing youth smoking.

“We have to make the most of this historic opportunity to protect our children against the dangers of tobacco by passing sweeping legislation that focuses first and foremost on reducing smoking among our young people,” Clinton said Friday before meeting with his aides.

Aides would not discuss Clinton’s reactions after the 45-minute meeting. But later White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry told reporters: “The settlement isn’t the issue anymore. . . . It’s a starting point for a new discussion. We’re taking this to a new level.”

White House aides are hoping Clinton takes a formal position before taking his daughter Chelsea to enroll at Stanford University late next week.

The settlement, to be paid over 25 years, would be funded by a 62-cent increase in the price of a pack of cigarettes. The deal also includes a variety of programs to discourage smoking and help people quit, in return for which the industry would gain immunity from future lawsuits by the states and from class-action claims.

But experts say price hikes are the most proven way to reduce smoking, particularly among teens. In recent days, a growing number of critics and administration officials have concluded that the 62-cent increase won’t do the job.

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, former Food and Drug Administration head David Kessler, and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), among others, have called for raising the cost of the deal enough so that cigarette prices will rise between $1.50 and $2. Clinton aides are known to favor making the deal more expensive, but administration sources Friday did not disclose an amount.

Clinton is already on record as opposing a provision of the deal that limits authority of the FDA to regulate nicotine levels in tobacco products.

The agreement has to be ratified by Congress and Clinton, but no deal is expected to clear Congress this fall.