Executive Vice President, National Center for Tobacco Free Kids, public health advocate
See also: Tobacco Deal Timeline about Spring 1997 negotiations | Web Site Links | National Center for Tobacco Free Kids (www.tobaccofreekids.org) | Matt Myers Interview
"From the very first day about the fight about tobacco, in the halls of Congress, in the Executive Branch, they had hired the best and the brightest. They had hired the people with the most credibility in the United States. What is hard to understand is how those individuals did what they did."
Who?
Myers sat at the negotiating table along with the attorneys general and the tobacco industry. He represented the viewpoint of the public health community, who have traditionally been strongly mistrustful of the industry. He wanted to be a voice to represent the anti-tobacco forces and the forces who want to eliminate smoking among children. He kept the public health community somewhat aware of the negotiations, although he has been criticized for even sitting at the table.
Contribution to the Deal
While Myers was working at the FTC on warning labels, he enlisted the support of then Tennessee Congressman, Al Gore. It was his connection to Gore that made Myers a central player in the settlement debate. As the negotiations began, the White House insisted that Myers be part of any talks to ensure that the public health perspective was included. The very first meeting between the attorneys general and a tobacco industry emissary Phil Carlton took place at Myers' offices in March of 1997. Myers has explained that it was important for public health to have a spot at the negotiating table. His critics claim he sold out, enticed by the glamour of being involved in such high level negotiations.
Expectations
Myers and the Public Health community ultimately want to stop smoking. But, they have settled for stopping smoking among children, which will ultimately lead to a society that does not smoke. During the negotiations, Myers argued for money for public health, both to pay back Medicaid and other smoking-related health costs, and to fund anti-smoking campaigns. He wanted the cigarette companies to divulge all industry research on smoking, so that the public health community can have full knowledge of what research has already been achieved by the industry. He wanted punishment for past deeds and the look-back provisions so the tobacco industry would have to pay more money if target decreases in youth smoking are not achieved.
Personal Information:
Before beginning his work against tobacco, Myers was a lawyer at the ACLU working on prisoners' rights. He then moved on to the Federal Trade Commission where he successfully worked to get tougher warning labels on cigarettes. As a private lawyer in the eighties, he lobbied Congress and won a doubling of the per pack cigarette tax. In 1996 the National Center on Tobacco Free Kids was created with private donations from groups such as the American Cancer Society and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The group carried out an intensive anti-smoking campaign to reduce smoking among children.
Affiliations: Myers is aligned with the American Medical Association, the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and other large public health groups.
Cards they hold (issues):
Cards: The Lobbying power of the Public Health community | Access to Al Gore and the White House | Public Support of antismoking movement, especially about youth smoking National Center for Tobacco Free Kids