The US senior health experts have welcomed President Clinton's call for sweeping changes in the proposed US tobacco settlement. Their comments followed the President's decision not to give unequivocal backing to a $368.5 billion settlement with the US tobacco industry without tougher measures to curb youth smoking.
Health spokesmen said Mr Clinton's plan for increasing "industry penalties" to as much as $1.50 per cigarette pack if teenage smoking fails to fall sharply over 10 years was a step in the right direction.
"I think the President really outlined his legacy for this country," said Dr C. Everett Koop, a former US surgeon general. "I was delighted with the specific recommendations he made. I realise they are broad and not detailed and that's exactly how it should be. But I think the most important thing is that what he outlined is going to work."
A former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, Dr David Kessler, agreed. "This makes an enormous amount of sense," he said. "It is an enormous victory for public health. . . The President has hit the nail on the head."
The American Heart Association called Mr Clinton's proposal "courageous". "His actions on tobacco are unprecedented, and he should be applauded for taking such a bold step," said Mr Dudley Hafner, chief executive of the organisation.
"The health of our people and especially the health of our children must be paramount in our thinking, in our vision and in our efforts," Mr Clinton said at a White House ceremony on Wednesday attended by dozens of officials and anti-smoking activists. He said he was not rejecting the June agreement between the tobacco industry and 38 state attorneys general, but added, "we're building on it".
Mr John Seffrin, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society, said Mr Clinton had listened to arguments from his group and from other health organisations who did not think the $368.5 billion tobacco accord reached in June went far enough.
"We had plenty of time to explain our concerns with the proposed settlement," he said. "The President and the White House have agreed with virtually every one of our constructive criticisms."
Mr Seffrin says raising the price of cigarettes will definitely deter smokers, especially teenagers. "You can bank on it that an increase of a magnitude of $1.50 per pack would have an impact on smoking habits of all people, including kids, over time." Combined with education programmes aimed at removing the glamour from smoking, price increases should have strong repercussions, he added.
Mr Seffrin also echoed concerns from activists and health officials in other countries who feared they might become dumping grounds for US tobacco companies seeking to make up lost profits. He said the United States should help fund anti-smoking campaigns in developing countries, adding that the public was ready to support such moves.