County Agrees to Settle Suit Against Tobacco Industry

In the largest legal agreement in Los Angeles County history, the county agreed to settle its lawsuit against the tobacco industry as part of the nationwide settlement reached by state attorneys general last month.

The settlement will produce roughly $120 million annually for the cash-starved county, and the Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday afternoon to create a special account so the funds could be used for health programs.

“We have a huge financial burden in this county and this society from the tobacco industry’s poisonous and addictive product,” said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, a former smoker turned tobacco foe and the named plaintiff in the county’s suit. “This doesn’t even begin to make amends for what they [the tobacco industry] have done.”

In 1996, Los Angeles was the first county in the nation to sue the tobacco industry for costs in treating smoking-related illnesses. Since state attorneys general reached a settlement with the industry last month over their suits, county officials have weighed whether to accept the billions of dollars they would reap under that agreement or pursue the case in court.

Supervisors Tuesday did what was expected and decided the settlement in hand was worth more than a risky court battle. The county will receive an estimated $3.3 billion over the next 27 years.

“I don’t know if we’re going to do much better,” Supervisor Don Knabe said.