WASHINGTON, June 21: In the 300-year old history of substance abuse by mankind, there could not have been an instance of a tougher crackdown. In the biggest victory ever for anti-smoking lobbies in the United States and across the world, American tobacco companies have agreed to cough up $ 368.5 billion over the next 25 years to compensate state and individual health care bills. They will also submit to government control over the way they make and market cigarettes.

Representatives from top US tobacco companies and attorney generals from 40 states reached the agreement on Friday after several days of negotiations. The White House and Congress will have to clear the deal -- and if it does, it will signal a slow death for the industry and change laws, etiquette and attitudes relating to smoking, perhaps across the world.

The US is one of the world's biggest tobacco producer and exporter. Nearly 25 per cent of all adult Americans smoke, although the figure is dropping. With the domestic crackdown on smoking, US companies are reaching out into foreign markets, particularly Third World countries.

Here are just some of the more stunning and unprecedented aspects of the tobacco agreement:

*Industry to pay $ 365.5 billion (about Rs 13 lakh crore) over 25 years to compensate states and individuals for tobacco related health costs. The industry will spend about $ 5 billion a year to compensate smokers for cigarette-related illness and death, reimburse state medicaid expenses and fund research and anti-smoking campaigns. They will pay $ 1.5 billion a year to fund programs to help smokers quit.
*Onus on tobacco industry to ensure there is a decrease in youth smoking. If youth smoking fails to drop by 30 per cent in five years, 50 per cent in seven years and 60 per cent in ten years, tobacco industry will face a fine of $ 80 million for each per cent short of the goal.
*The FDA will have authority to regulate nicotine as a drug. It could choose to ban nicotine after 2009. A 75 per cent pack increase in federal cigarette tax.
*Ban on cigarette vending machines and elimination of all billboard and outside signs, including those in enclosed stadiums. Colour advertisements will be mostly forbidden and only black and white text ads will be allowed.
Also eliminated: human images and cartoons from advertising and packages; Internet ads; product placement on movies and TV; merchandise with product name or logo.
* New, more prominent health warnings on cigarette, such as Smoking Can Kill You, Cigarettes Cause Cancer and Cigarettes Are Addictive. Disclosure of ingredients in the same manner as food products.
*$ 500 million a year for a nationwide anti-smoking campaign with industry having no control over its content. Protection from second-hand smoke in most public places and workplaces. The settlement sent stocks of tobacco companies tumbling on Wall Street. But executives said though the deal was a ``bitter pill'', it would modify the industry's ``pariah status''. The tobacco industry has avoided coming to the table for decades. But it was finally brought to its knees by the Clinton administration's decision to broaden FDA authority over tobacco products and a flurry of 40 state-sponsored lawsuits and 17 huge class-action lawsuits.

In the past, courts often blamed smokers for their habit. But more recently, unearthed documents showed that companies hid research results showing the addictiveness of cigarettes. Soon, suits began to be based on addiction instead of health damage. Recognising that the tide was turning, the industry sued for peace.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.