Dealing with the Devil: The Tobacco Control Negotiations of 1997-98 Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

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1990 was one of the more fierce public criticism of the largest tobacco companies in the U.S. by a number of anti-smoking advocacy groups, which are collectively known as the movement against tobacco. In an effort to curb smoking, it was hardly uncommon for these groups to vilify tobacco companies on moral and ethical grounds. So it was not a little surprise when in the spring of 1997, Matthew Myers, executive vice-president of one of the leading groups in the country on Tobacco Control, National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids, has been invited to sit down with representatives of the tobacco industry, to discuss grand compromise billions of damages to be paid by the industry in exchange for protection from further legal responsibility for the health impact of their products. This case is based on the book "Smoke in the eyes, the movement Leadership Lessons from the tobacco wars" (Michael Pertschuk, Vanderbilt University Press, 2001), tells the story of the historical effective-over tobacco settlement negotiations, which involved several state attorneys general, private attorneys, the tobacco industry, and Myers, as the lone representative of the movement against tobacco. The point, however, is not intended as a means to discuss tobacco itself (although it can serve this purpose), but rather to discuss the dynamics of the negotiations - in particular, it is difficult, but not uncommon position of Matthew Myers, as he who is trying to find a compromise, must find a way to not lose the support of those in the movement who have more radical views. HKS Case Number 1737.0 "Hide
by Philip Heymann 29 pages. Publication Date: March 25, 2004. Prod. #: HKS481-PDF-ENG