Ever since the antismoker crusade became a marketing tool for the fund raising sharks, smokers have just sort of left the battle to the tobacco industry, assuming that our interests concurred with theirs. However, even though the battle was presented as a war against Tobacco, I noticed that the industry continued to prosper. I noticed that the antismoker industry also did very well, as did government health agencies. There was plenty of money available for anti-tobacco statistical research, (but very little for a search for cures), which gave these researchers a virtual guarantee that they would be published... and, therefore, not perish.

Everyone, it seems, was feeding their children, making their BMW payments on time, and buying new houses in upscale subdivisions. The only people being hurt were smokers. It doesn't take a genius IQ to figure out that absolutely no one has our interest at heart but us.

So today, at 3:00 P.M., I filed a suit against the FDA challenging its unlawful power grab regulation of cigarettes. Time and time again, bills have been introduced to shift jurisdiction over cigarettes to the FDA. Time and time again these bills have been defeated. Even Kessler has admitted, on several occasions, that FDA does not have jurisdiction.

The suit has been filed on behalf of the nation's 67,000,000 smokers, and while it is very similar to the one filed a few weeks ago by the tobacco industry, it is different in one very important respect. As of now, no settlement can be reached without the participation of smokers. No more deals unless OUR interests are served.

We are serving notice that we will no longer be the battlefield in a war that requires us to be the only casualties. Smokers are finally beginning to wake up. I say it's way past time

Joel Beatty