In 1994, more than 40 US states came together(联合起来；聚集) to sue(起诉；控告) one of the most powerful industries on Earth: big tobacco(大型烟草公司（行业）).
1994 年，美国 40 多个州联合起来，起诉了地球上最强大的行业之一：大型烟草业。
The suits(诉讼；官司) brought together diverse(多样的；不同的) claims centred on tobacco companies’ misleading advertising and contribution to a mounting(日益增长的；加剧的) public health crisis. They ended in(以……告终；结果是) a negotiated(经协商的；谈判的) settlement with the US government, in which the companies agreed to pay more than any industry ever, and the states agreed to drop a large portion of(放弃大部分) their claims.
这些诉讼汇集了各种指控，核心是烟草公司的误导性广告及其对日益严重的公共健康危机的影响。诉讼最终以与美国政府的协商和解告终，烟草公司同意支付比任何行业都多的赔偿金，而各州则同意放弃大部分索赔要求。
Thirty years later, smoking is on the rise(在上升；在增长) in the developing world, the companies involved remain profitable(盈利的；有利可图的) and the global tobacco market is worth nearly $1tn.
三十年后，吸烟在发展中国家呈上升趋势，涉事公司依然盈利，全球烟草市场价值接近 1 万亿美元。