Topics in the News: Tobacco
John Cox on Health Care
: Sep 17, 2007
Insurance reward for avoiding tobacco, alcohol, obesity
Q: Healthcare consumes up to 17% of our GNP. It appears that lifestyles that are based in moral principles would reduce healthcare expenditures. Would you support a private healthcare approach that rewards behavior that promotes moral lifestyles--
that is, avoiding alcohol and tobacco consumption, as well as obesity reduction, exercise and nutrition that promotes health?- HUCKABEE: Yes.
- TANCREDO: Yes.
- COX: Yes.
- BROWNBACK: Yes.
- PAUL: Yes.
- HUNTER: Yes.
- KEYES: Yes.
Click for John Cox on other issues.
Source: [Xref Huckabee] 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate
Ron Paul on Health Care
: Sep 17, 2007
Insurance reward for avoiding tobacco, alcohol, obesity
Q: Healthcare consumes up to 17% of our GNP. It appears that lifestyles that are based in moral principles would reduce healthcare expenditures. Would you support a private healthcare approach that rewards behavior that promotes moral lifestyles--
that is, avoiding alcohol and tobacco consumption, as well as obesity reduction, exercise and nutrition that promotes health?- HUCKABEE: Yes.
- TANCREDO: Yes.
- COX: Yes.
- BROWNBACK: Yes.
- PAUL: Yes.
- HUNTER: Yes.
- KEYES: Yes.
Click for Ron Paul on other issues.
Source: [Xref Huckabee] 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate
Mike Huckabee on Health Care
: Sep 17, 2007
Insurance reward for avoiding tobacco, alcohol, obesity
Q: Healthcare consumes up to 17% of our GNP. It appears that lifestyles that are based in moral principles would reduce healthcare expenditures. Would you support a private healthcare approach that rewards behavior that promotes moral lifestyles--
that is, avoiding alcohol and tobacco consumption, as well as obesity reduction, exercise and nutrition that promotes health?- HUCKABEE: Yes.
- TANCREDO: Yes.
- COX: Yes.
- BROWNBACK: Yes.
- PAUL: Yes.
- HUNTER: Yes.
- KEYES: Yes.
Click for Mike Huckabee on other issues.
Source: 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate
Sam Brownback on Health Care
: Sep 17, 2007
Insurance reward for avoiding tobacco, alcohol, obesity
Q: Healthcare consumes up to 17% of our GNP. It appears that lifestyles that are based in moral principles would reduce healthcare expenditures. Would you support a private healthcare approach that rewards behavior that promotes moral lifestyles--
that is, avoiding alcohol and tobacco consumption, as well as obesity reduction, exercise and nutrition that promotes health?- HUCKABEE: Yes.
- TANCREDO: Yes.
- COX: Yes.
- BROWNBACK: Yes.
- PAUL: Yes.
- HUNTER: Yes.
- KEYES: Yes.
Click for Sam Brownback on other issues.
Source: [Xref Huckabee] 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate
Chris Dodd on Health Care
: Sep 13, 2007
Require at age 55 a physical exam to qualify for Medicare
Q: Do we have to rethink the way we look at health care in America, beyond access and coverage?A: Yes, we do, absolutely. About 75% of the Medicare dollars is caused by chronic illness. I'm looking at a possibility of also requiring at age
55, for instance, a physical exam 10 years before you'd qualify for Medicare so that we could make a determination as to whether or not things like smoking, diet, and so forth are going to contribute to the cost of that chronic illness and the
Medicare dollar. Those things need to be done as well. And I've done this, by the way. You know, I wrote the Family Leave Act. It took me seven years to get it done. But I brought Republicans and
Democrats together about many controversial issues associated with health care. So I think not only talking what you want to do but where you've been on these issues ought to be constructive to voters.
Click for Chris Dodd on other issues.
Source: Huffington Post Mash-Up: 2007 Democratic on-line debate
Chris Dodd on Health Care
: Sep 13, 2007
Make people pay high price for voluntary choice of smoking
Q: Since smoking has indisputably negative health consequences, are you willing to prohibit smoking for those who are to be the recipients of any government-paid health care?A: Well, prohibition may go a little bit further here, but certainly,
to make it very costly for doing it and making people pay a price in a sense for that voluntary choice. Now, it's hard to quit smoking, and anyone who's ever smoked knows that. But here, doing everything we can to move people out.
3,000 children start every day smoking in this country. Despite all of our efforts with warnings labels and raising the cost of taxes on cigarettes, it's still a major problem in the country and a major cause for a
variety of illnesses that become chronic illnesses for people. Prohibition would probably go a bit further than I'd want it to, but I'd make it expensive to do it.
Click for Chris Dodd on other issues.
Source: Huffington Post Mash-Up: 2007 Democratic on-line debate
Bill Richardson on Drugs
: Sep 6, 2007
Supports national ban on smoking in public places
Q: Over 400,000 Americans have premature death due to smoking or secondhand smoke. Who would favor a national law to ban smoking in all public places?BIDEN: Yes. I would ban--in all public [places], nationally.
DODD: 3,000 kids start smoking every
day in this country.
RICHARDSON: I did it in New Mexico as a national law.
KUCINICH: You bet I'll go for a national law.
Q: So Biden, Dodd, Richardson, Gravel and Kucinich in favor of a national law.
EDWARDS: Wait, wait, wait, and Edwards.
Click for Bill Richardson on other issues.
Source: [Xref Edwards] 2007 Democratic primary debate at Dartmouth
John Edwards on Drugs
: Sep 6, 2007
Supports national ban on smoking in public places
Q: Over 400,000 Americans have premature death due to smoking or secondhand smoke. Who would favor a national law to ban smoking in all public places?BIDEN: Yes. I would ban--in all public [places], nationally.
DODD: 3,000 kids start smoking every
day in this country.
RICHARDSON: I did it in New Mexico as a national law.
KUCINICH: You bet I'll go for a national law.
Q: So Biden, Dodd, Richardson, Gravel and Kucinich in favor of a national law.
EDWARDS: Wait, wait, wait, and Edwards.
Click for John Edwards on other issues.
Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate at Dartmouth College
Joe Biden on Drugs
: Sep 6, 2007
National ban on smoking would reduce chronic illnesses
Q: Over 400,000 Americans have premature death due to smoking or secondhand smoke. Who would favor a national law to ban smoking in all public places?BIDEN: Yes. I would ban--in all public [places], nationally.
DODD:
3,000 kids start smoking every day in this country.
RICHARDSON: I did it in New Mexico as a national law.
KUCINICH: You bet I'll go for a national law.
Q: So Biden, Dodd, Richardson, Gravel and Kucinich in favor of a national law.
EDWARDS: Wait, wait, wait, and Edwards.
BIDEN: Let me also add here as well--with 3,000 young people starting to smoke every single day, one of the major causes of the health care issue and Medicare--is because of chronic illnesses associated with
things like smoking. So the idea that we wouldn't draft a national law to stop this in public places is one of the things you're going to have to do if you're going to deal with rising health care costs and the same is true with alcohol.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate at Dartmouth College
Hillary Clinton on Health Care
: Sep 6, 2007
Local smoking bans ok, but no national ban
Q: Over 400,000 Americans have premature death due to smoking or secondhand smoke. Would you be in favor of a national law to ban smoking in all public places? A: Well, we banned it in New York City. And people thought it would be a terrible idea,
and everyone was really upset about it. And actually business at a lot of establishments, like restaurants and other places, increased, because many people felt more comfortable going when there was no smoking.
I think that we should be moving toward a bill that I have supported to regulate tobacco through the FDA. And once it has those health warnings and once the FDA can regulate it, I think that will give a lot of support to local communities to make these,
what are essentially zoning decisions. And I'd fully support that.
Q: But you're not in favor of a national law to ban smoking in public places?
A: Not at this point. I think we're making progress at the local level.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate at Dartmouth College
Mike Gravel on Drugs
: Sep 6, 2007
Supports national ban on smoking in public places
Q: Over 400,000 Americans have premature death due to smoking or secondhand smoke. Who would favor a national law to ban smoking in all public places?BIDEN: Yes. I would ban--in all public [places], nationally.
DODD: 3,000 kids start smoking every
day in this country.
RICHARDSON: I did it in New Mexico as a national law.
KUCINICH: You bet I'll go for a national law.
Q: So Biden, Dodd, Richardson, Gravel and Kucinich in favor of a national law.
EDWARDS: Wait, wait, wait, and Edwards.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: [Xref Edwards] 2007 Democratic primary debate at Dartmouth
Dennis Kucinich on Drugs
: Sep 6, 2007
Supports national ban on smoking in public places
Q: Over 400,000 Americans have premature death due to smoking or secondhand smoke. Who would favor a national law to ban smoking in all public places?BIDEN: Yes. I would ban--in all public [places], nationally.
DODD: 3,000 kids start smoking every
day in this country.
RICHARDSON: I did it in New Mexico as a national law.
KUCINICH: You bet I'll go for a national law.
Q: So Biden, Dodd, Richardson, Gravel and Kucinich in favor of a national law.
EDWARDS: Wait, wait, wait, and Edwards.
Click for Dennis Kucinich on other issues.
Source: [Xref Edwards] 2007 Democratic primary debate at Dartmouth
Chris Dodd on Drugs
: Sep 6, 2007
Supports national ban on smoking in public places
Q: Over 400,000 Americans have premature death due to smoking or secondhand smoke. Who would favor a national law to ban smoking in all public places?BIDEN: Yes. I would ban--in all public [places], nationally.
DODD: 3,000 kids start smoking every
day in this country.
RICHARDSON: I did it in New Mexico as a national law.
KUCINICH: You bet I'll go for a national law.
Q: So Biden, Dodd, Richardson, Gravel and Kucinich in favor of a national law.
EDWARDS: Wait, wait, wait, and Edwards.
Click for Chris Dodd on other issues.
Source: [Xref Edwards] 2007 Democratic primary debate at Dartmouth
Barack Obama on Health Care
: Sep 6, 2007
National smoking bans only after trying local bans
Q: Over 400,000 Americans have premature death due to smoking or secondhand smoke. Would you be in favor of a national law to ban smoking in all public places? A: I think that local communities are making enormous strides, and I think they're doing
the right thing on this. If it turns out that we're not seeing enough progress at the local level, then I would favor a national law. I don't think we've seen the local laws play themselves out entirely, because I think you're seeing an enormous amount
of progress in Chicago, in New York, in other major cities around the country. And because I think we have been treating this as a public health problem and educating the public on the dangers of secondhand smoke, that that pressure will continue.
As I said, if we can't provide these kinds of protections at the local level, which would be my preference, I would be supportive of a national law.
Q: Have you been successful in stopping smoking?
A: I have. You know, the best cure is my wife.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 Democratic primary debate at Dartmouth College
Rudy Giuliani on Health Care
: Aug 5, 2007
$15,000 tax deduction for health savings accounts
Q: What do you think of Sen. Grassley's compromise plan to cover 3.2 million more poor children by raising the cigarette tax?A: The bill had two very unfortunate parts to it. One, it would reduce Medicaid Advantage, which is a very, very successful
program that actually does bring about some form of a free-market solution. And second, it would have the really odd effect of moving children who presently have private insurance to becoming wards of the state, basically having them move in the
direction toward socialized medicine. That would be a terrible thing to do. What we should do is increase the number of people who have private insurance. In order to do that, we should give them a major tax deduction, $15,000, let them have a health
savings account as part of that. They'll have an incentive to own their own health insurance. That's the thing that's wrong with the market here. It is not really good to move this thing in terms of more government control of health care.
Click for Rudy Giuliani on other issues.
Source: 2007 GOP Iowa Straw Poll debate
Sam Brownback on Health Care
: Aug 5, 2007
Market-based solution over socialized government-pay system
Q: The SCHIP bill would raise tobacco tax. How do we pay for health care in this country without raising some additional revenues?A: Well, that's why I voted against the bill. But it wasn't just that. The piece of it that I think you have to recognize
is that you've got a fundamental decision to make here on health care, which is 16% of the economy, going north fast, probably headed to 20% of our total economy. Do you think the solution to providing more and better health care is (1) that we should
have more government solutions involved, or (2) should there be more market-based solutions involved? And I think clearly the answer here is you need more market forces in health care. That's what we need to do. Instead, you've got the Democrats doing a
step-by-step march toward a socialized government-pay system. And they're very happy to do it that way. But we can get better health care going this way. And we can hold the price of it down and not bust the federal treasury at the same time.
Click for Sam Brownback on other issues.
Source: 2007 GOP Iowa Straw Poll debate
Tom Tancredo on Health Care
: Aug 5, 2007
Womb-to-tomb health care is not federal responsibility
Q: What do you think of Sen. Grassley's compromise plan to cover 3.2 million more poor children by raising the cigarette tax?A: Let me suggest we think about something in the area of health care that perhaps is unique, different and scary to some
people, but that is this: It's not the responsibility of the federal government to provide womb-to-tomb health care for America. And so, we constantly debate on exactly what way we want to push government control of this issue, but in every way
we're doing it, it's unhealthy. It is unhealthy to have a government health-care plan in America. There are some things we can do, absolutely. The expansion of health savings accounts that increases individual responsibly.
The allowing for people to actually take the reimportation of prescription drugs.
Q: I know you voted against the expansion of the children's health insurance this week.
A: You bet I did.
Click for Tom Tancredo on other issues.
Source: 2007 GOP Iowa Straw Poll debate
Tommy Thompson on Health Care
: Aug 5, 2007
Convert illness & disease system to wellness & prevention
Q: What do you think of Sen. Grassley's compromise plan to cover 3.2 million more poor children by raising the cigarette tax, which Pres. Bush has threatened to veto--who do you side with, Pres. Bush or Sen. Grassley? A: Neither one of them are right.
The problem is, we've got a sickness, illness and disease society. We spend 90% of $2 trillion--that's 16% of the gross national product--on getting people well after they get sick.
Less than 10% of the money keeping you out of the hospital, out of the nursing home. Does anybody in America think that's a smart idea? I think it's dumb. Let's go to wellness and prevention. Number two, let's start managing diseases in America.
Let's make sure that individuals that are chronically ill and physically disabled are able to get the quality of health and therefore get the quality of life. They take up 66% of the cost. You could reduce that down to 50%.
Click for Tommy Thompson on other issues.
Source: 2007 GOP Iowa Straw Poll debate
Mike Huckabee on Health Care
: Aug 5, 2007
Give Americans Congress' healthcare, or give Congress ours
Q: What do you think of Sen. Grassley's compromise plan to cover 3.2 million more poor children by raising the cigarette tax, which Pres. Bush has threatened to veto--who do you side with, Pres. Bush or Sen. Grassley? A: I'd like to side with the
people of America who really are looking for a lot better action than they're getting out of their president or Congress. You know, if you want to know how to fix it, I've got a solution. Either give every American the same kind of health care that
Congress has, or make Congress have the same kind of health care that every American has. They'll get it fixed. We really have an incredible problem because our system is upside-down. It focuses on intervention at the catastrophic level of disease rather
than really focusing on prevention. So we've got a system that, no matter how much money we pour into it, we're not going to fix it, until we begin to address the fact that this country has put its focus not on wellness, not on health, but on sickness.
Click for Mike Huckabee on other issues.
Source: 2007 GOP Iowa Straw Poll debate
Hillary Clinton on Drugs
: Jul 18, 2007
1969: held herself aloof from college drug counterculture
Hillary's faith, or perhaps her personality or seriousness generally, must have been a contributing factor to her staying on the straight and narrow. She called herself "an ethical
Christian," physically aloof from the counterculture. Her college friends do not recall her smoking dope, dropping acid, drinking to excess, or tearing off her clothes during concerts.
She did not imbibe the hedonism and drug culture of the period; she did not drop out.
She at one time painted a flower on her arm and wore tie-dye clothes, and as surviving photos attest, looked like a girl of the sixties, but was no Janis Joplin.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: God and Hillary Clinton, by Paul Kengor, p. 34
Tommy Thompson on Health Care
: Jun 3, 2007
Educate public about chronic illnesses, to avoid them
- We got to completely transform the health care system, make it a wellness system, and make it a prevention system.
- We have 125 million Americans that have one or more chronic illnesses. In order to change this we have to educate the
American people about tobacco, about diabetes, about cardiovascular and about obesity. You do that, you'll be able to change health care.
- 25% of Americans use 2/3 of the cost of health care.
If you manage those diseases, you can reduce that down to 50% and save lots of money.
- information technology--electronic medical records, a patient bill of rights, and be able to have
ePrescribing, and if you do that, you're going to be able to save billions of dollars. If you just go paperless, you will save 10% of the cost of health care.
Click for Tommy Thompson on other issues.
Source: 2007 GOP debate at Saint Anselm College
Bill Richardson on Education
: Mar 24, 2007
Eliminate junk food in schools; statewide smoking ban
As a governor I eliminated junk food in schools. I just signed a statewide smoking ban and I would do that as president. I would have a promotion of healthy lifestyles. Give tax credits to companies that encourage their workers to be healthier,
to exercise. I believe also that as Americans we have to ensure prevention. That is so important. Making sure that we start early, making sure that we promote healthy lifestyles. That would be my plan as president.
Click for Bill Richardson on other issues.
Source: SEIU Democratic Health Care Forum in Las Vegas
Barack Obama on Drugs
: Feb 15, 2007
Smokes cigarettes now; smoked some pot in high school
[Some pundits question how well Obama's] brand of popularity will hold up when voters learn more about him, such as the fact that he's a smoker. That meant cigarettes, -- Obama, trying to quit, is down to puffing three a day. But when Jay
Leno asked him in Dec. 2006 if he smoked, he was talking not about Marlboros but about pot. "Not recently--that was in high school," Obama responded. "Did you inhale?" Leno said, alluding to bill Clinton's famous dodge. "That was the point," Obama said.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Hopes and Dreams, by Steve Dougherty, p. 29-32
Sam Brownback on Corporations
: Feb 2, 2007
Favored Sarbanes-Oxley bill against corporate malfeasance
Sen. Brownback's record on regulation is generally pro-growth with just a few exceptions. His votes include:- Voted against raising the minimum wage (Roll Call #257, 10/19/05) (Roll Call #179, 06/21/06)
- Voted against the Patients' Bill of
Rights, which allowed the government to impose a set of onerous mandates on insurance coverage instead of allowing individuals to make their own decisions in the marketplace (Roll Call # 220, 06/29/01)
- Voted against increasing restrictions on tobacco
companies (Roll Call #161, 06/17/98)
- At the same time, Senator Brownback has cast some votes that increase burdensome government regulations. The most unfortunate of these was his vote (admittedly along with all his Senate colleagues) in favor of the
Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, an overreaction to corporate malfeasance that imposed heavy financial burdens on companies (Roll Call #192, 07/25/02).
- He has also supported the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Brownback press release, 10/27/03).
Click for Sam Brownback on other issues.
Source: Club for Growth, "Second Presidential White Paper"
Mike Huckabee on Tax Reform
: Jan 28, 2007
Raised Arkansas taxes 5 times, but lowered taxes 94 times
Q: The Cato Institute analyzed your performance, and said: "Huckabee receives an F for his current term and a D for his entire tenure. The main reason for the drop was his insistence on raising taxes at almost every turn throughout his final term." And
The Club for Growth wrote: "Huckabee raised taxes five times-a gas tax increase in 1999, the cigarette tax hike, tax increases in 2004, a tax on beer and a tax on nursing homes." That's a tough record to sell to a Republican audience in primary states.
Click for Mike Huckabee on other issues.
Source: Meet the Press: 2007 "Meet the Candidates" series
Rudy Giuliani on Government Reform
: Oct 1, 2002
Debates on campaign finance reform miss the point on honesty
Debates on campaign finance reform miss the point. I favor it, but in the final analysis money will not make an honest man dishonest or a dishonest man honest.In politics, there is an outcry whenever an officeholder who has received campaign
contributions from a particular industry supports a position perceived as favorable to that industry. The implication is that, say, the tobacco industry's contribution "bought" the official's support or at least bought access. I would be the last to say
it never happens, but much more common is a company choosing to support those it views as sympathetic to its interests. At any given moment in my administration, someone who supported me was angry because I didn't do what they hoped I would do. If they
withdraw their support, you don't want them around anyway. There's no one thing you can do to establish the principle. All you can do is keep making decisions based on what you believe, and by your example, you will demonstrate your independence.
Click for Rudy Giuliani on other issues.
Source: Leadership, autobiography by Rudolph Giuliani, p.222-223
Hillary Clinton on Health Care
: Apr 5, 2000
Regulate tobacco; fine of $3000 for every underage smoker
By regulating tobacco products, we can make sure that the tobacco industry is not allowed to target our kids with their deadly products. If elected, I would work on legislation to regulate tobacco. I would also
assess the Tobacco Industry $3,000 for every underage smoker if youth smoking is not lowered by 50% by 2004.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Remarks at New York City Annual Kick Butts Day
Al Gore on Health Care
: Mar 22, 2000
Let FDA regulate cigarettes; fight teenage smoking
Gore said Congress should give the FDA power to regulate nicotine as an addictive drug. Gore has become a passionate opponent of the tobacco industry, but once bragged of working in tobacco fields on his family’s farm and until 1990 accepted tobacco [PAC
money]. In 1996, he moved many with an account of the death of his sister from lung cancer. Today Gore accused the cigarette companies of recruiting teenagers as “replacement smokers” for the 400,000 people who die each year of smoking-related illnesses.
Click for Al Gore on other issues.
Source: NyTimes.com
John McCain on Health Care
: Jan 17, 2000
Higher taxes on cigarettes
McCain supports higher taxes on cigarettes.
Click for John McCain on other issues.
Source: US News & World Report, p. 23
John McCain on Families & Children
: Jun 16, 1999
Label violent media products like we label cigarettes
Saying parents need clear, consistent information about entertainment products, McCain [proposed] a uniform labeling system on all movies, video games, and music products. The “21st Century Media Responsibility Act” amends the Cigarette Labeling Act to
apply its warning label requirements to violent media products. “Our children are vulnerable to images of violence. We must help parents better determine the violent content of the entertainment products by giving them information,” McCain said.
Click for John McCain on other issues.
Source: Press Release: “Violent Labeling Bill”
Al Gore on Families & Children
: May 14, 1999
More restrictions on underage smoking
Right now, tobacco hooks 3,000 American children every day -- and will lead 1,000 of them to an early death.That is why Al Gore has worked:- to make it harder for tobacco companies to advertise to kids
- to make it illegal to sell tobacco to kids
under eighteen
- and to fight for legislation that will reduce teen smoking even further, while protecting America’s hard-working tobacco farmers.
Click for Al Gore on other issues.
Source: www.AlGore2000.com/issues/health.html 5/14/99
John McCain on Health Care
: Jul 2, 1998
Supports patient rights; regulate nicotine as a drug
McCain supports the following principles regarding health issues:- Support legislation to define and enforce the rights of insured patients
- Classify nicotine as a drug and cigarettes as drug delivery devices regulated by the FDA.
Click for John McCain on other issues.
Source: Project Vote Smart, 1998, www.vote-smart.org
Al Gore on Drugs
: Mar 23, 1998
After-school programs prevent most drug use
The hours between 2 & 6 are the most perilous hours of the day for our children. A teenager is most likely to take up smoking between the hours of 2 & 6. A teenager is most likely to do drugs and alcohol between the hours of 2 & 6. A teenager is most
likely to get caught up in crime between the hours of 2 & 6. That means we must engage our children in positive, constructive activities between the hours of 2 & 6, [by expanding] access to quality after-school care for all our children.
Click for Al Gore on other issues.
Source: Speech to National PTA, “Protecting Our Children”
Mike Huckabee on Health Care
: Nov 1, 1992
Ban smoking in all public places
As a long-time sufferer from extremely sensitive allergies to tobacco smoke (I take an allergy shot each week for this condition), I would like to see smoking banned in public places, or at least a requirement that smoking cannot take place when it would
infringe upon the clean air of nonsmokers. For some of us, it is not a mere nuisance--it represents a very definite health threat. It should not be appropriate to indiscriminately blow toxic smoke on other people.
Click for Mike Huckabee on other issues.
Source: Responses to Associated Press Questionnaire for AR Senate