The mighty tobacco industry now seems vulnerable. For decades, even as the health dangers of smoking became widely known, it successfully fought off legal challenges. But anti-tobacco forces kept pushing and, in recent years, cigarette-makers changed tactics.

In many cases, the manufacturers have decided to settle lawsuits, not fight them -- a strategy designed to keep profits up and investors happy. In the face of re-energized opposition, the tobacco industry is bending, but it's far from breaking.