[Intl-tobacco] USA Today/Tommy Thompson debate, includes intl issues

[Robert Weissman]

Today's Debate
Smoking and public health

USATODAY view
http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/2001-06-01-nceditf.htm
Editorial/Opinion
06/01/2001

Bush's stealth tactics threaten anti-smoking gains

It's easy to see why tobacco giant Philip Morris was recognized in
Washington last month at President Bush's fundraising gala for its
$250,000 GOP donation. The once-beleaguered tobacco industry has seen its
fortunes flip since the Bush administration arrived in the nation's
capital.

Despite efforts to mask its steps, the administration is leaving
footprints that mark a sharp retreat from Clinton-era anti-smoking
strategies. The moves are subtle - here, a snip at the budget; there, a
fallback from tough language in an international treaty - but they add up
to significant change. Years of hard-won progress against teen smoking and
false tobacco-industry health claims are being flushed away, even as
smoking continues to kill 400,000 Americans annually.

When Bush took office, the question was less whether the administration
would retreat, than how far. The glum answer is evident in a swath of
action, including:

Starving a lawsuit: The Justice Department is choking off a groundbreaking
1999 lawsuit against cigarette makers, which charges that the industry
defrauded the public by lying about the risks of smoking. Department
lawyers asked Attorney General John Ashcroft for $57 million in the coming
fiscal year for staff and fact-finding, warning that without adequate
funding the lawsuit would have to be abandoned - a gift to Big Tobacco.
Ashcroft's answer is a budget proposal of $1.8 million, a warning that the
suit could languish and die.

Diluting a treaty: After promising last fall to negotiate a strong
international tobacco treaty, the U.S. treaty delegation in Geneva last
month retreated from tough positions on several fronts. For instance, it
pulled back from proposals for an international ban on smoking in bars,
restaurants, outside schools and on public transportation. It also sought
to delete provisions that called for countries signing the treaty to
license retailers as a way to prevent smuggling and sales to teens.

Waffling on regulation: Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson
said in March that he favored federal regulation of tobacco, but was
forced to add that he was "speaking for myself." Unfortunately, his view
has proved less than persuasive. The White House hasn't pushed Congress to
regulate tobacco, meaning the industry faces few restrictions in marketing
new products, even ones it claims are safer.

Cutting the budget: The federal Office on Smoking and Health's budget
increased from $20 million to $102 million during the Clinton years, but
the first Bush budget calls for a 5% cut. While the administration is
adding funds for other tobacco-related research, this cut strikes at the
heart of smoking-prevention programs in the states, which rely on this
federal agency for expertise to set up effective programs. Just as more
states are starting programs, this cut could decrease their impact.

The Bush administration insists that its actions do not represent policy
shifts. For instance, it says that it is proceeding with the Justice
lawsuit. That's true only if a lawsuit can be pressed against well-armed
corporations on 3% of the budget required. Or if the specific words in a
treaty are less significant than public posturing about making it strong.

Smoking remains one of the nation's biggest killers, and the tobacco
industry one of the GOP's staunchest contributors - to the tune of $7
million during the past two years.

The Bush administration will have to choose which it values more: public
health or political donations. So far the answer is disappointing.

- - -

Opposing view
http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/2001-06-01-ncoppf.htm
Editorial/Opinion
06/01/2001

U.S. leads in tobacco control
By Tommy G. Thompson

Every day, 3,000 young Americans become smokers, a statistic that is
unacceptable to President Bush and the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. Building on his record in Texas, the president is committed to
keeping America the global leader in preventing cigarettes from getting
into the hands of minors as well as helping smokers break the chains of
addiction.

Nowhere is that commitment better reflected than in the 2002 budget for
the Department of Health and Human Services, which calls for $975 million
to enhance America's tobacco-prevention, research and education programs.
This is a 7% increase over this year.

This administration is committed to working with states to keep cigarettes
out of the hands of children. We work with states to fund innovative
programs to keep minors from smoking and to enforce laws that prohibit the
sale of tobacco products to children and teenagers.

We are taking the extra, vital step of making dramatic increases in
tobacco-related research at the National Institutes of Health. The $486
million in the NIH budget for tobacco programs includes money for research
on nicotine addiction, how tobacco smoke leads to cancer,
smoking-prevention strategies and new therapies to help people quit
smoking. This is a 14% increase.

American leadership does not stop at our borders. At the World Health
Assembly in Geneva last month, I underscored our commitment to reducing
tobacco use worldwide by making it clear that we wholeheartedly support
efforts to craft an international treaty on tobacco control that strongly
focuses on public health and emphasizes the prevention of tobacco use
among children.

We also are appointing a senior policy expert from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention to work with the World Health Organization in its
efforts to reduce tobacco use in Southeast Asia, where up to 70% of men
smoke in some areas.

The world is looking to America on this issue because we are leading the
way in tobacco control. And we will continue to be resolute in our efforts
to keep children and young adults from smoking.

Tommy G. Thompson is secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.