But the agreement is far from being a completed deal. Under U.S. law, any legislation must be approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the president before it becomes law. That process could last well into 1998. Tobacco companies also have the power to kill the deal if they don't like the revisions in Congress.

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop says tobacco regulations could be a long way off.

"They are talking about it as a marvelous achievement. I would put it in the sense of a marvelous effort. The achievement is yet to come," says Koop, an anti-smoking activist. He adds: "Whether that effort becomes an achievement depends a lot on Congress."

Some members of Congress are critical of the deal, saying that when Congress gets the written settlement, lawmakers from tobacco-producing states will seek to soften the blow to tobacco companies. But the FDA will have the power to prevent that.

Under the new provisions, the tobacco industry will lose power to the FDA to regulate nicotine, control components of tobacco products and ban nicotine products. It's control would limit the power of lawmakers to make major changes to the legislation.

Still other negotiators say the deal should come out of Congress relatively untouched.

Washington trial lawyer John P. Coale, a leading negotiator with the tobacco companies, says: "Everybody who participated in these talks wants the plan to go through as close to what it is now as possible with the understanding that Congress will fine-tune. And Congress has the right to do what they want."

President Clinton, who waged war against the tobacco industry during his re-election campaign, has been cautious with his reaction to the settlement. This week he formed eight working groups to review the settlement and report to him in 30 days.

"Until now we have not had the opportunity to review the actual terms of the agreement, and we have not concluded whether it is in the best interests of the public health," Clinton said shortly after the agreement was announced.

Lawyers and lawmakers say the tobacco settlement has more than just domestic implications. Coale says the proposed tobacco agreement in the United States is an example for other countries to follow.

Says Coale: "What happens here will be a model for the rest of the world. They can either take it and do it or not. I am convinced that the industry in the United States wanted to have fundamental change, they knew they had to and they wanted to do at least negotiations. And throughout the negotiations the industry dealt with integrity and good faith."

But some lawmakers say the international community will suffer at the hands of tobacco companies who are rushing to make up for huge losses in the future. Lawmakers, such as U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), are worried that tobacco companies will dramatically boost advertising to young adults and children abroad to make up for losses at home. He says Congress needs to remember the larger picture before passing the legislation into law.

He says: "As far as I'm concerned it's not the job of the Congress to just staple the pages of this agreement together and then salute it. It's got to be strengthened on behalf of youngsters in our country and youngsters around the world."

Still, it could be years before smokers in the United States and abroad see any major changes. Even if the U.S. Congress approves the legislation, it won't be enforced until nine months after it passes. John Fithian, a lawyer who represents cigarette advertisers, says he doubts cigarette advertising will slow down, considering the pace of Congress.

"I can't imagine Congress could pass this before the end of this year," Fithian said.