Mike Pence, cigarette truther
Mike Pence, cigarette truther
by Josh Israel at Think Progress
https://thinkprogress.org/mike-pence-cigarette-truther-4b89e9304759
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Over his political career Gov. Mike Pence (R-IN) has consistently carried the tobacco industrys water, denying the dangers of cigarettes, opposing government regulation, and slashing smoking cessation efforts. In return, they rewarded him with more than $100,000 in campaign donations.
In 2000, Gov. Mike Pence (R-IN), then running for an open U.S. House seat, came out against a proposed settlement between government and the tobacco industry, calling it big government. In a shocking editorial, he wrote: Time for a quick reality check. Despite the hysteria from the political class and the media, smoking doesnt kill. Pence acknowledged that smoking is not good for you, but claimed that two-thirds of smokers do not die from smoking related illness and 9 out of ten smokers do not contract lung cancer. He warned of a slippery-slope in which government would soon seek to discourage fatty foods, caffeine, and SUVs.
In a debate that September, his Democratic opponent pressed him on the suggestion that smoking does not cause cancer and noted his contributions from tobacco companies. According to the Indianapolis Stars coverage of the exchange, Pence clarified that he wrote that there was no causal link medically identifying smoking as causing lung cancer. While cigarette manufacturers might have been still claiming that there was not causal link between smoking and lung cancer, medical science had settled the question years earlier. A landmark report by the U.S. Surgeon General had documented the link in 1964.
After the debate, the paper reported, Pence acknowledged he had received an estimated $5,000 and $10,000 in contributions from tobacco companies. His actual total was already at least $13,000 in contributions from the political action committees for Brown & Williamson, Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, and US Tobacco, according to Political MoneyLine data reviewed by ThinkProgress. A May 2000 letter from the Reynolds PAC to Pence, now available in the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents archive archives, conveyed a $1,000 check and praised his position on issues important to our company.
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