[topleybird]

Tobacco shill is what I primarily recall

Originally Posted by NYT article from June 1996

The Dole campaign released a letter to Dr. C. Everett Koop, the former surgeon general, in which the likely Republican Presidential nominee said that "my personal observations are that for some people it is addictive, and for others it may not be." Dr. Koop said last week that he was baffled by Mr. Dole's reluctance to say tobacco is addictive in light of the emergence of internal documents from the tobacco industry that, he said, show that "even tobacco executives know" that tobacco is addictive.

Originally Posted by NYT article from June 1996

He reinforced this Thursday in an interview with ABC News, in which Peter Jennings noted that internal industry documents showed that in 1989, a lobbyist for Philip Morris called Mr. Dole, then minority leader of the Senate, "a valuable friend and a good supporter of tobacco."

Asked if nicotine were addictive, Mr. Dole called it "a habit," adding, "Some people who've tried it can quit easily, others don't quit, so I guess it's addictive to some and not to others."

Tobacco became an issue in the Presidential campaign earlier this month when Mr. Dole, on a visit to tobacco-growing Kentucky, said it was not necessarily addictive. He added later: "We know it's not good for kids. But a lot of other things aren't good. Drinking's not good. Some would say milk's not good."

Originally Posted by NYT article from June 1996

Since then, the Democrats have dogged Mr. Dole on the matter, highlighting the tobacco money he has received over the years (more than $477,000, according to the Clinton campaign) and portraying him as a captive of the industry.