Jump to full article: TDO: Tobacco Documents Online, 2006-12-07
Intro: This 1995 narrative written by "Todd" (who is presumably Todd Haymore, a staffer for then-Congressman L.F. Payne, D-VA) chronicles a series of back room meetings between the White House and representatives from tobacco-growing states to broker a deal to stop the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's efforts to regulate nicotine a drug. The memo, a chronology of events apparently written to refresh Payne's memory, indicates that then-White House chief of Staff Leon Panetta engaged in secret negotiations with representatives of tobacco-growing states to "remove [FDA Commissioner] Kessler from the radar." Panetta dangled a proposal in front of tobacco companies, telling the representatives that "voluntary action" by tobacco companies on the youth access issue "may be the best way to stop Kessler from attempting to regulate tobacco products" :
"AFTER IT BECAME APPARENT THAT THE FDA/KESSLER SITUATION WAS THE GREATEST PROBLEM FACING TOBACCO STATE MEMBERS, IT WAS DECIDED THAT VOLUNTARY ACTION BY THE TOBACCO COMPANIES ON YOUTH ACCESS ISSUES MAYBE THE BEST WAY TO STOP KESSLER FROM ATTEMPTING TO REGULATE TOBACCO PRODUCTS.PANETTA SAID THAT IF THE INDUSTRY CAME FORTH WITH A VOLUNTARY PROPOSAL AIMED AT REDUCING YOUTH ACCESS, THE ADMINISTRATION WOULD REMOVE KESSLER/FDA FROM THE RADAR."
The memo also indicates White House attempts to keep the negotiations secret:
"Panetta stressed the need to keep this meeting and the comments within as quiet as possible. He said that if the meeting or discussions reached the press, the 'negotiations' would be off and the White House would deny knowing about them."
Congressman Thomas Bliley (R-VA) met with tobacco industry leaders and told them about the White House's youth access proposal. The industry put together a proposal and submitted it to Panetta. As a subsequent meeting, Panetta warned Congressmembers L.F. Payne (D-VA), Bliley (R-VA) and Charlie Rose (D-NC) "to keep this proposal and this meeting very quiet because media leaks would cancel any further discussions."
Ultimately, White House Counsel Abner Mikva reviewed the industry's proposal and made a counter proposal that the industry found unacceptable. There is no way to know the affect these negotiations may have had on tobacco companies ramping up of youth smoking prevention programs in the mid-1990s.
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