WASHINGTON - President-elect George W. Bush apparently is moving toward an armistice in the federal government's war on tobacco.

Bush, who rarely addressed health issues related to cigarette smoking during his campaign against Vice President Al Gore, has nominated two men who are sympathetic to the tobacco industry - both to sensitive administration posts. Former Sen. John Ashcroft of Missouri is the Bush choice for attorney general and Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson for secretary of Health and Human Services. Bush, himself a former smoker, has expressed doubts about the wisdom of carrying on the Justice Department's lawsuit charging the top five cigarette manufacturers with racketeering in an effort to recoup money the government spent treating the poor for smoking related illnesses under Medicaid. The moderated approach has caught the attention of Wall Street, where tobacco stocks have risen sharply since Bush's victory. Shares in Philip Morris, which produces the top-selling Marlboro brand, jumped 87 percent last year, while RJ Reynolds has seen its stock more than double over the last eight months. Anti-smoking activists are alarmed by the signals emanating from the Bush transition office. "What this portends is an uphill battle of gargantuan proportions,'' said Ahron Leichtman, executive director of Americans for a Tobacco-free Society. "There's no question that this is really devastating to the tobacco control movement. Is there anyone who can spell out the benefits from a Bush presidency as they relate to tobacco?'' The clearest indication of Bush's intentions springs from the Ashcroft and Thompson nominations. Ashcroft, already under attack from civil rights and pro-choice organizations, was the only member of the Senate Commerce Committee in April 1998 who voted against an anti-smoking package sponsored by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that included a $1.10 per pack increase in the federal cigarette tax and sharp restrictions on marketing and advertising. As attorney general, Ashcroft would assume responsibility for the federal government's lawsuit seeking billions of dollars from big tobacco for covering up the harmful effects of smoking. An indication of Ashcroft's intentions could come as early as Jan. 26, when Justice Department lawyers and attorneys representing the tobacco industry are slated to exchange documents. Any failure to proceed could sound the death knell for the suit. "Sen. Ashcroft was the major opponent of any kind of tobacco reform,'' said John Banzhaf, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health. "One would assume he's going to carry those sentiments with him to attorney general.'' Banzhaf said his concerns stretch beyond the Justice Department lawsuit. Ashcroft is likely to ignore other anti-smoking initiatives, like an investigation into the placement of tobacco products in popular media like movies and television. "I assume that will be deep sixed,'' he said. As secretary of Health and Human Services, Thompson would oversee agencies as diverse as the Surgeon General's office, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Public Health Service - all of which deal in some manner with smoking prevention or the health effects related to smoking. The Institute of Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco, has shown that Thompson, in his campaigns for governor, raised more than $60,000 from tobacco industry sources and benefited from cigarette money in other ways - such as $16,000 in travel expenses paid by Philip Morris. Philip Morris, through its non-tobacco subsidiaries Kraft Foods and Miller Brewing, is Wisconsin's largest private employer, a fact that explains Thompson's corporate ties. What's more difficult to rationalize, critics maintain, is a study that ranked Wisconsin 49th in laws intended to limit youth access to cigarettes. As governor Thompson vetoed legislation that would have permitted municipalities to adopt local laws stricter than state laws prohibiting teen smoking. Thompson also is friends with Philip Morris vice president Andrew Whist, creating what some anti-tobacco activists are calling "an intolerable conflict of interest between a health secretary and the industry responsible for 500,000 annual deaths and an annual cost to Medicare of more than $22 billion." Representatives of both Thompson and Ashcroft declined comment, citing pending confirmation hearings in the Senate. Scott McClellan, a spokesman for the Bush transition team, dismissed the speculation, asserting that the next president will "make his decisions based on what's right for America.'' Bush, McClellan said, supported tough anti-smoking measures during his tenure as governor of Texas and "always believes in helping children make the right choices." The tobacco industry spent lavishly in the last election. According to a study by the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, cigarette manufacturers pumped $4,473,970 into campaigns during the 1999-2000 election cycle, most of which - $3,758,930 - went to GOP candidates. The Clinton administration gained a reputation for its solid anti- smoking initiatives, including a failed effort to permit the Food and Drug Administration to regulate nicotine levels in cigarettes.

<< Prev	CIGoutlet.NET News Home	Next >>