Louisiana is the sixth state to sue the tobacco industry to recover money it spent treating Medicaid patients with smoking-related illnesses.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in state court in Lake Charles, claims the industry covered up knowledge of the link between lung cancer and smoking and manipulated nicotine levels to keep smokers hooked.It does not say how much money the state has spent in treating smoking-related illnesses, but estimates the cost in the millions of dollars.
The lawsuit names seven major tobacco companies; the industry's lobbying arm, the Tobacco Institute; and several tobacco product distributors. It is similar to suits filed by Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi and West Virginia, Attorney General Richard Ieyoub said Thursday.
The suit was filed the same day that Liggett Group, the smallest of the major cigarette makers, agreed to settle a separate class-action lawsuit filed in New Orleans on behalf of current and former smokers.