December 15, 2011   Patrick Reynolds, grandson of tobacco magnate R.J. Reynolds, says no price increase, no tax increase will release tobacco’s addictive grip altogether. Some studies show that nearly 20% of smokers continue their habit even after contracting lung cancer. Nevertheless, steeply rising prices—thanks in large part to taxes and litigation costs—have helped push the ratio of Americans who smoke below one-in-five for the first time in decades. In most other parts of the world, it is still one in three. Reynolds has long lobbied for tobacco control policies and advertising that illustrates the health risks. He is now looking for a sponsor for a world speaking tour. He’s already been to Greece to help its government with anti-smoking initiatives. At 63, he has come to terms with disillusionment over his grandfather’s empire, his anguish about his father, his anger at being disinherited, and his struggles with all the dysfunction that one can imagine in a tobacco-rich family. “I have a list of all the Reynoldses that died from smoking,” said Reynolds, who has had to kick the habit himself. “I’m only the one who made it.”

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