Smoke in Their Eyes

The classic US struggle between the public interest and corporate interests is perhaps nowhere better illustrated than in the decades-long struggle between the tobacco industry and advocates for public health. The failure of the ""global settlement"" legislation is now viewed by many public health experts as a historic missed opportunity, and in this text Pertschuk describes the forces brought to bear. A lifelong public health leader and tabacco control advocate, Pertschuk provides insight into the movement and its opposition. Questions that reveal themselves here can be applied to public advocacy as a whole. How can movement leaders gauge and best employ popular support? Who has legitimacy to speak on behalf of a particular public cause? How is it possible for those whose cause is a moral one to strike political compromise?