INDUSTRY TRYING TO BUY INFLUENCE [09/09]

Feeling its own health threatened, the tobacco industry spent more than $ 15 million in the first half of 1996 to thwart federal efforts to curtail teen-age smoking, raise the industry's taxes and restrict its advertising, according to the Associated Press.

Industry giant Philip Morris Cos. led the way with $ 11.3 million. Other leading spenders included the Tobacco Institute, nearly $ 1.3 million; U.S. Tobacco, $ 920,000; R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, $ 859,670; and the Smokeless Tobacco Council, $ 600,000.

Congressional clerks who reviewed the reports say Philip Morris' total appeared to be the largest so far among around 12,000 companies and groups that filed midyear reports over the last two months.

Records show that during the first 18 months of the current two-year election cycle, tobacco companies gave $ 4.75 million in unregulated "soft money" to the two major parties--about $ 4 million to the GOP and about $ 750,000 to the Democrats.

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