Ed Whitfield: “It is impossible today in today's climate to discuss anything relating to tobacco without discussing the political…”

“It is impossible today in today's climate to discuss anything relating to tobacco without discussing the political correctness of the issue, and I think that all of us would agree with that, and I do not think there is anybody in this Chamber, or anybody that I know of, that wants young people to smoke any tobacco product, and every tobacco product today has on the package that it may be dangerous to one's health to smoke the product or to chew the product, and we all know that, and all of us know that there are many things in our society that it is harmful for us to engage in. Many things: drinking alcoholic beverages, drinking and driving, dropping out of school. But we also know that individuals make individual choices about what they do, and the same thing takes place on this issue of tobacco. We know historically that prohibition did not work in the alcohol business, we know that it is illegal to sell and buy cocaine and heroin on the streets of America, and yet we know that it is done all over the streets of America, and we know that organized crime is involved in the selling of those products. But one thing that we also know is that tobacco is a legal product, and it is a regulated product.”