Industry in a Reported Compromise

The tobacco industry has agreed in principle to drop its long-standing opposition to the government regulating the amount of nicotine in cigarettes, according to sources involved in settlement negotiations between cigarette makers and their adversaries. During talks held this week in New York, the companies “moved off flatly saying no” to any regulation of nicotine but still insisted that the Food and Drug Administration be prohibited from banning cigarettes or the nicotine in them, one source said. However, it remained unresolved exactly “what does regulate mean,” according to another source familiar with the talks. No aspect of the negotiations has been written in stone, and any final agreement would require approval by Congress.