21.   He said the recent national settlement that the attorney general signed already placed restrictions for deceptive marketing to teenagers.

22.   Humphrey criticized the proposed national settlement, saying its regulatory and advertising restrictions are too easy on the industry.

23.   I think the national settlement agreement with the states has taken a lot of steam out of it.

24.   However, under the terms of the Texas deal, any national settlement would eventually supersede the state agreement.

25.   If Congress passes a national settlement before that, he said, Texas would get less under it than under its own agreement with the tobacco industry.

26.   If the national settlement is passed by Congress, any new lawsuits filed against the tobacco companies would be paid for within a proposed annual limit.

27.   In addition, under the national settlement, tobacco companies could make lower payments if cigarette sales decline.

28.   In the national settlement, the companies would abandon most of their advertising and accept new regulations.

29.   In the wake of the Congressional failure to reach a national settlement, a majority of states negotiated on their own with tobacco companies.

30.   It was unclear, though, just how many of the fen-phen plaintiffs would pursue their own cases or join the national settlement.