Proposed US tobacco deal is not enough

The proposed settlement currently being negotiated in the United States, whereby the tobacco industry would pay $368.5bn (£230bn) to 40 states over 25 years, is not high enough, health economists have calculated.

In a detailed analysis, health economists from the University of California have calculated that smoking related Medicaid costs amount to $12.9bn a year—that is, $322bn over 25 years without …