Is Opioid Litigation the New Tobacco? Not Quite, Even if There's a Family Resemblance

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Lawyers filing dozens of lawsuits over the opioid crisis have taken a page out of the Big Tobacco playbook—but not the whole book.

The lawsuits bear many resemblances to the litigation against Big Tobacco, which ended with a $246 billion settlement in 1998. The underlying claims are the same: A group of corporations conspired to conceal the dangers of an addictive drug that's led to a public health problem. Some of the same lawyers have been hired on a contingency fee basis as outside counsel to bring cases on behalf of governments.

But there are significant differences. Unlike tobacco, which focused primarily on four primary defendants, the opioid cases name dozens of companies and individuals with varying alleged roles in the crisis, from drug manufacturers and distributors to doctors and clinics. And while state attorneys general led the tobacco litigation, cities and counties have spearheaded the opioid cases.