February 1, 2003

Big Tobacco’s Big Play

For decades, the country’s tobacco giants have leveraged huge campaign contributions to dictate Washington’s global smoking policies. With George W. Bush in the White House, that influence is only growing.

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Up in Smoke
By Michael Scherer
November/December 2002 Issue
States promised to use the tobacco settlement to fight smoking — but some are reinvesting the money in Big Tobacco.

An Engineered Controversy
By Jane Akre
January/February 2002 Issue
Farmers fear that genetically altered tobacco will contaminate their crops.

Tobacco Money Flows Both Ways
By Rick Anderson
July 6, 2000
Trial lawyers squeezed billions out of the Republican-loving tobacco industry in last year’s landmark settlement. Then they took their newfound wealth and contributed millions to federal and state Democratic campaigns.

Big Tobacco Rides East
By Robert Dreyfuss
January/February 1999 Issue
With a squinting cowboy, cute cigarette girls, an American allure, and a poorly funded opposition, America’s tobacco giants lay seige to Asian markets.

Tobacco Strikes Back
A Special Mother Jones Investigation
May/June 1996 Issue
How tobacco executives set out to win the game, with covert political operatives and massive amounts of campaign cash.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

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