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WASHINGTON - Surgeon General Richard Carmona said Tuesday that he supports the banning of tobacco products - the first time the government's top doctor and public health advocate has made such a strong statement about the historically contentious subject.
Testifying at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on smokeless tobacco and "reduced risk'' tobacco products, Carmona was asked if he would "support the abolition of all tobacco products.''
"I would at this point, yes,'' he replied.
He declined to say whether he would support a specific law to ban tobacco - saying that "legislation is not my field'' - but did say he "would support banning or abolishing tobacco products.''
"If Congress chose to go that way, that would be up to them,'' he said. ``But I see no need for any tobacco products in society.''
Carmona's comments, made in answer to questions from Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., were received without much immediate response from the committee, but representatives from tobacco states later said they were startled.
"It just came out of the blue,'' Whitfield said after the hearing. "I've never heard anything like that from any public official - and even from the advocates against tobacco. I was pretty disappointed and surprised and quite shocked.''
Bush administration officials quickly distanced themselves from the comments, saying the statement represented Carmona's views as a doctor rather than the position of the administration.
"That is not the policy of the administration,'' said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. "The president supports efforts to crack down on youth smoking, and we can do more as a society to keep tobacco away from kids. That's our focus.''
But the comments Tuesday also reflected how far medical, and to some extent public, views about tobacco have swung. Though Carmona's comments were the most dramatic during Tuesday's hearing, those in the room - from conservative Republican lawmakers to liberal Democrats - voiced a broad consensus that tobacco is a killer.
The willingness to voice criticism of tobacco in ways that would have been considered controversial not long ago was striking, especially in light of the millions of dollars in campaign donations the tobacco industry gives to politicians, especially to President Bush and Republicans in Congress.
By MARC KAUFMAN The Washington Post
Published: Jun 4, 2003
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Testifying at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on smokeless tobacco and "reduced risk'' tobacco products, Carmona was asked if he would "support the abolition of all tobacco products.''
"I would at this point, yes,'' he replied.
He declined to say whether he would support a specific law to ban tobacco - saying that "legislation is not my field'' - but did say he "would support banning or abolishing tobacco products.''
"If Congress chose to go that way, that would be up to them,'' he said. ``But I see no need for any tobacco products in society.''
Carmona's comments, made in answer to questions from Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., were received without much immediate response from the committee, but representatives from tobacco states later said they were startled.
"It just came out of the blue,'' Whitfield said after the hearing. "I've never heard anything like that from any public official - and even from the advocates against tobacco. I was pretty disappointed and surprised and quite shocked.''
Bush administration officials quickly distanced themselves from the comments, saying the statement represented Carmona's views as a doctor rather than the position of the administration.
"That is not the policy of the administration,'' said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. "The president supports efforts to crack down on youth smoking, and we can do more as a society to keep tobacco away from kids. That's our focus.''
But the comments Tuesday also reflected how far medical, and to some extent public, views about tobacco have swung. Though Carmona's comments were the most dramatic during Tuesday's hearing, those in the room - from conservative Republican lawmakers to liberal Democrats - voiced a broad consensus that tobacco is a killer.
The willingness to voice criticism of tobacco in ways that would have been considered controversial not long ago was striking, especially in light of the millions of dollars in campaign donations the tobacco industry gives to politicians, especially to President Bush and Republicans in Congress.
By MARC KAUFMAN The Washington Post
Published: Jun 4, 2003
link link
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