Totaal verbod op tabak
De Surgeon General, de hoogste gezondheidsauthoriteit in de VS, heeft gisteren aangegeven dat hij welwillend zou staan tegenover een algemeen verbod op tabak.
Hoewel de anti’s een jaar geleden massaal te hoop liepen tegen een voorstel van de staat North Dakota om het bezit en gebruik van tabak te verbieden, lijkt het nu dat een nieuwe drooglegging wel degelijk op de agenda staat van de gezondheidsauthoriteiten in de VS.
Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona said yesterday that he supports the banning of tobacco products — the first time that the government’s top doctor and public health advocate has made such a strong statement about the historically contentious subject.
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 that they represented Carmona’s views as a doctor rather than the position of the administration.
