|
For
immediate release --July, 1998. |
Miller
Comment on Candy Cigarettes -- Investigation Ended
Attorney
General says, "I don't want a peripheral issue like candy cigarettes
to diminish public support for more important tobacco issues."
Following is a comment from Attorney General Tom Miller:
Today my office filed a withdrawal of our request for additional information
on the possible link between candy cigarette manufacturers and tobacco
consumption by youth. The withdrawal ends our investigation of this
issue. While the issue has never been a priority of my office, we asked
for the information because a reliable study suggested that youth were
more inclined to smoke real cigarettes after having used candy cigarettes.
Since we filed the request for information, I have become convinced that many people see the inquiry as a digression from our main priority, which is protecting Iowa youth from lifelong addiction to tobacco. Public support is a crucial ingredient in our comprehensive effort to prevent the death of 5,000 Iowans who die prematurely every year from smoking- related disease. I don't want a peripheral issue like candy cigarettes to diminish that public support when we need that public support for more important tobacco issues such as passing legislation to allow the state to recover hundreds of millions of dollars Iowa taxpayers paid to treat the victims of tobacco-related illness.