The Tobacco Wars.

Blair, Roger D.

By Walter Adams and James Brock. Cincinnati, OH: Southwestern College Publishing, 1998; Pp.xi, 209. $11.95 (paperback).

As a former student and a longtime admirer of Walter Adams, it is both an honor and a sad pleasure to review his latest and final book. We will all be poorer for his absence.

Walter Adams and James Brock have written three books in a Socratic dialogue style: Antitrust Economics on Trial, Adam Smith Goes to Moscow, and finally, The Tobacco Wars. These books address pressing policy issues in an entertaining, yet infuriating, way. The books entertain because the format provides instant point-counterpoint presentations of the central issues, in a sometimes humorous fashion. The barb is always out for the pomposity of academic expression. Those who cannot take some gentle ribbing should stay away from the Adams and Brock trilogy. But these books are also infuriating, not because of the jabs at our rhetoric, but because the books present both sides of these important issues without telling readers what they should conclude. Walter Adams believed that "learning is not a spectator sport." Apparently, Brock shares this view, because these books are good at making the reader weigh the pros and cons of the positions presented. This is not to say that the views of the authors cannot be discerned, but readers are drawn into making their own assessments. At times, one longs for an instructor's manual.

In The Tobacco Wars, Adams and Brock, both inveterate smokers, have addressed an extremely important public policy issue: what to do about smoking. As usual, the authors present the arguments on both sides of the issue in a dialogue format. In this case, the dialogue is a debate with many parts. Although there is no small measure of skepticism in the way that the pro-tobacco positions are presented, Adams and Brock still leave it to us to reach our own conclusions. As regards the wisdom of smoking, this inconclusiveness is trivial, but when it comes to freedom of choice and First Amendment issues, the inconclusiveness is a bit more difficult for the reader.

Part 1 of their five-part "series" provides interesting data and some historical background. Part 1 also mentions some of the changes that have occurred in recent years: smoking bans on airlines, limitations on advertising (especially advertising aimed at children), changes in tax policy, and antitrust issues (of course). This part provides a welcome foundation for what follows.

In Part 2, "The Consumer Front," consumer behavior is examined. One of the panelists in this part is an economist who explains that people smoke because smoking maximizes their utility. Since consumers are assumed to be rational utility maximizers, we may infer that smoking must provide utility-enhancing benefits, or else people would not smoke. The pro-tobacco panelist, of course, agrees with this position and extols the virtues of freedom of choice. The anti-tobacco panelist focuses on public health consequences and the problems of addiction.

In Part 3, "The Antitrust Front," we are treated to a history of the anticompetitive practices found in the tobacco industry. This is a very interesting part, because the industry has a rich history of predatory pricing, merging to monopoly, engaging in tacit collusion, and collusively suppressing any mention of health risks. In this part, we learn that the industry has not exercised market power by restricting output and elevating price. Instead, it has worked to shift demand and to compete for market share through advertising and product differentiation.

In Part 4, "The Social Welfare Front," Adams and Brock turn to the health risks and social welfare consequences of smoking. The rationality of consumer demand is examined from the social welfare consequences of smoking. The rationality of consumer demand is examined from the social welfare perspective: can we rely upon market forces to maximize social welfare when consumers may be addicted? Whether "addiction" is a fair characterization is also examined. In addition, the external effects that smokers impose on others are analyzed.

Finally, in Part 5, "War and Peace," the public policy issues are examined squarely. Adams and Brock raise a series of specific policy questions: (i) Should we adopt policies designed to reduce consumption? (ii) Who should foot the bill for tobacco-related health problems? (iii) Should policy be imposed on the tobacco industry or should the tobacco industry be involved in the development and implementation of policy? In this part, the issues are explored by a state attorney general, who has been successful in negotiating a settlement with the industry, by a former analyst in the surgeon general's office, by an unabashed critic of tobacco, and by a libertarian spokesman, who was included for his ability to defend free markets and the importance of stemming the tide of government intrusion. The cases for and against governmental policies are presented.

As with their first two books, Adams and Brock have done a great job of entertaining us with their style and humor. They also make us think about pressing policy questions. I hope that Brock can continue on his own so that readers can look forward to another book in this remarkable style.

Roger D. Blair University of Florida