ated to the use of illegal drugs (1996, p. 68). He estimated that the medical treatment of smoking-related illnesses cost taxpayers about $50 billion a year. In his recently completed study, Kluger disputes the latter figure. He points out that, because of early deaths due to smoking, substantial savings are achieved through the reduction of benefits which would have otherwise have been paid to smokers and that actually the taxes generated by cigarette sales exceed the annual medical costs (1996, p. 29).
Demands for Regulation and the Industry Response.
Prior to 1990, the industry has been highly successful in limiting the damage from these disclosures. Industry spokespeople have consistently denied that cigarette smoking is harmful to health. For example, in his testimony before a Congressional committee in 1982, Edward Horrigan, CEO of the Liggett Group, stated that "no causal link between smoking and disease has been established" (Hilts, 1994, June 18, p. A22).
The public was not fooled by such dis
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