Joe Camel's broken back

National | An interview with the man who helped place the last straw | Bob Jones

Imagine Matlock knocking the Marlboro Man out of the saddle. That was the unlikely scenario on March 13 when a cigarette manufacturer, for the first time ever, broke ranks with the tobacco industry to settle a class-action lawsuit. Although the other big tobacco companies haven't given up the fight-they argued before a federal appeals court in New Orleans April 2 that individuals should be forced to pursue lawsuits separately, rather than in a class action-analysts agree that the Liggett settlement has dealt the industry a crippling blow.

Most analysts agree that the defection by tiny Liggett Inc. is the worst thing to hit big tobacco since the invention of the no-smoking sign. The renegade company has agreed to stop marketing to children, to cooperate with the investigation into alleged nicotine-loading by other cigarette makers, and to reimburse several states for their tobacco-related Medicaid expenses.