Former Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore Appointed To Legacy's Board Of Directors

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Legacy welcomes former Attorney General Mike Moore, now head of Mike Moore Law Firm, LLC, to its Board of Directors. A nationally recognized voice on tobacco prevention, Moore brings extensive knowledge and background to the Legacy board and its mission to keep young people from smoking and helping all smokers quit.

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As the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi from 1988 to 2004, Moore received national attention in 1994 when he filed the first suit against thirteen tobacco companies. Making Mississippi the first state to insist cigarette manufacturers reimburse the State for costs it incurred treating smoking-related illnesses, the suit resulted in a $4.1 Billion settlement for the State of Mississippi. His groundbreaking legal strategy was the direct precursor to the historic Master Settlement Agreement between the tobacco companies and 46 states which dramatically curtailed tobacco company marketing and, among other things, led to the creation of Legacy.

"Mike Moore is an icon in tobacco control and we couldn't be more proud to have him join our Board of Directors," said General Lawrence Wasden, Attorney General of the State of Idaho and Legacy Board Chair.  "Mike brings a wealth of expertise to our Board leadership and we look forward to benefitting from his vision and counsel," he said. 

Recognized by his peers as a leader, Moore has served as president of the National Association of Attorneys and  received major awards including the 1994 Wyman Award, naming him the most outstanding Attorney General in the nation.  He has also been named the National Law Journal's Lawyer of the Year, Governing magazine's Public Official of the Year and been the recipient of the American Medical Association's Dr. Nathan Davis Award. 

Now practicing law with his own firm, Mike Moore Law Firm, LLC, in Flowood, Mississippi, Moore remains extremely active in tobacco prevention work. He chairs The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, Mississippi's tobacco prevention program that he founded after the settlement in 1998, serves as a trustee for the Stennis Center for Public Service, and is chairman of the state's Tobacco Control Advisory Council. Moore is also a board member for the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

LEGACY
Legacy helps people live longer, healthier lives by building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Legacy's proven-effective and nationally recognized public education programs include truth®, the national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as contributing to significant declines in youth smoking; EX®, an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; and research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use. Located in Washington, D.C., the foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. To learn more about Legacy's life-saving programs, visit LegacyForHealth.org.

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SOURCE Legacy