Surgeon General
Supports Settlement Funds For Tobacco Control Programs
U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post
urging states to spend a portion of their tobacco settlement money on
comprehensive tobacco control programs (see full story).
He wrote: "The single most
promising public health intervention today is not the development of a new
drug but the opportunity to invest part of the recent $246 billion
settlement with the tobacco companies into public health and proven programs
that would prevent our nation's children from smoking...
I believe a
great achievement is possible if Congress and the states work together to
commit some of these resources to effective programs that will prevent
millions of our children from becoming victims of tobacco-related diseases.
...With money in hand, states now have the necessary resources to launch
a comprehensive, effective public health program against tobacco.
Successful models of statewide programs exist in Massachusetts, California
and other states; we know what programs work...
[T]here can be no
greater priority to public health, community health or family health in this
country than ensuring a robust and comprehensive tobacco control program in
every state."
Source:
David Satcher, "Save The Kids, Fight Tobacco," WASHINGTON POST, May 25, 1999, p. A15.