Del Papa says state to push ahead with tobacco suit

Even though the Senate let die a bill to discourage teenagers from smoking, Nevada plans to move forward with its own litigation.

"Nevada has never slowed with our lawsuit," Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said today. "We are one of the leading states in litigation."

Nevada became the 30th state to join the legal battle against the nation's leading tobacco companies when it filed a 127-page complaint in May 1997. It is currently pending in district court in Reno.

The case is in the discovery phase, and a trial date has not been set.

Nevada's lawsuit, comprising 15 claims, demands that tobacco companies:

Del Papa said her office recently received $234,00 from the Food and Drug Administration to finance 3,300 additional inspections of retail stores in Nevada to stop the sale of tobacco to children under 18 years of age.

According to American Cancer Society statistics, Nevada led the nation with 30.3 percent of adults smoking in 1992-93. Also, 29.9 percent of the state's youth in grades 9-12 smoked in 1993.

As recently as 1990, Nevada also led the nation in deaths caused by smoking at 478.1 per 100,000 residents.

Sun reporter Cy Ryan contributed to this story.

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