Waxman Questions Big Tobacco in Historical 1994 Congressional Hearing

April 14, 1994 -

"You and your colleagues seem to have almost a fanatical insistence that your products are the same as all these other products . This morning, in your written statement and your oral statenrent, you compared cigarettes to coffee, tea, sweets, sugar, warm milk, cheese, chocolate and Twirtkies. That's quite a list . I'm struck by what I think is a calculated attempt to trivialize the devastating health impact of your
product. You and I both know that Twinkies don't kill a single American a year. They may not add to a healthy diet, but they don't kill.

The difference between cigarettes and Twinkies and the other products you mentioned is death . And I am sure you are aware that the Surgeon General and the American Medical Association estimate that cigarettes kill over 400,000 smokers every year . Putting aside your assertion that people accept this risk willingly, do you agree with this estimate?"

- Rep. Henry Waxman

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