Judd Gregg: “The immunity issue is really at the essence of this bill and the public policy which this bill addresses. What we have…”

“The immunity issue is really at the essence of this bill and the public policy which this bill addresses. What we have here is an industry which produced a product which it knew killed people. It is an industry that produced a product which it knew addicted people. In fact, it created additives to that product so it would addict people at a higher rate than were the product sold in its natural state. Then, knowing that it had a product that killed people, and knowing that it had a product that addicted people, it then targeted the sales of that product on our kids. That is an industry which deserves very little in the way of courtesy or support or protection--and that is what this amendment is about, 'or protection'--from the U.S. Congress. Yet, within this bill there is proposed language which would give a historic, unprecedented protection to the tobacco industry from liability on their lawsuits.”