NEW YORK (CNN) -- While tobacco companies and state prosecutors claim to be making "considerable progress" toward a historic settlement, talks on the issue are likely to continue at least through next week.

After four days of intensive negotiations, the talks adjourned Thursday for three days so the prosecutors and tobacco company representatives could talk to their supporters about the issue.

Washington state Attorney General Christine Gregoire told reporters she was "optimistic" an out-of-court settlement could be reached in the next several weeks.

"I don't mean to suggest we're close to a deal," Gregoire said in a conference call. "We have made considerable progress, but we have considerable distance to go."

Gregoire did not give details, but did say any negotiated settlement would have to include monetary compensation equal to the $196.5 billion they would have gotten from a settlement that fell apart earlier this year because of lack of support from Congress.

She said that talks so far have focused on public health issues such as billboard advertising and anti-smoking campaigns.

"If anything is going to be done, it's going to have to be done in the next few weeks," she said, noting the two sides have been discussing the issues for 15 months, including the talks that led to the proposed $368.5 settlement that ultimately was rejected by Congress.

Washington's lawsuit against the tobacco industry seeking compensation for decades of smoking-related health costs is scheduled to go to trial in Seattle on September 14.

"We're doing well and moving past some of those major hurdles that we have to get out of the way," North Carolina Attorney General Mike Easley told reporters Wednesday. "Now is the time to let both sides go back and talk to the people they are representing."

Easley said the discussions remain focused on health concerns and measures -- such as tobacco marketing restrictions -- to curb teen-age smoking, though he declined to give any details.

The negotiations are to resume Monday, though it was not immediately certain where the talks would take place.

The tobacco industry and state attorneys general are trying to settle 37 pending lawsuits by states seeking to recover tens of billions of dollars spent treating sick smokers over the last several decades.

Besides North Carolina and Washington, other states involved the talks are California, New York, Massachusetts, Colorado, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma.

Mississippi, Minnesota, Texas and Florida have separately settled their lawsuits for $36.8 billion.