The Emperor of All Maladies

by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Led by Clements and Fortas, tobacco makers crafted a strategy that, at first glance, seemed counterintuitive: rather than being regulated by the FTC, they voluntarily requested regulation by Congress676. The gambit had a deeply calculated logic. Congress, it was well-known, would inherently be more sympathetic to the interests of tobacco makers. Tobacco was the economic lifeblood of Southern states, and the industry had bribed politicians and funded campaigns so extensively over the years that negative political action was inconceivable. Conversely, the FTC’s unilateral activism on tobacco had turned out to be such a vexing embarrassment to politicians that Congress was expected to at least symbolically rap the wrist of the vigilante commission—in part, by lightening its blow to tobacco. The effect would be a double boon. By voluntarily pushing for congressional control, the tobacco industry would perform a feat of political acrobatics—a leap from the commission’s hostile fire to the much milder frying pan of Congress.