Tobacco Documents Online

sTAnoN WA$C-Tv PROORAIA ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGFiT crfy NY DA'M 03/15/93 06:56PM AUpUENCE SMEO TOBACCO INDUSTRY flROADCAST ERCER.PTS PETER JENNINGS (Host) : Tonight, an appareat contradiction. Given that the government goes out of its way to publicize the dangers of smoking, why are millions of tax dollars being apent every year to help farmers grow and sell tobacco? Here's ABC's John Martin. JOAN MARTIN (Reporter):' For more than 50 years, tobacco farmers have had an extra field.hand at their side, Uncle Sam. Until 1982, he paid them a subsfdy_.to help them grow tobacco. Then, with the government warning of dangers to health from smoking, some in Congress wanted to end all assistance. So, there was a compromise. Henceforth, the government would only lend money N to tobacco farmers to produce their crops . O 1k1% So, today, the Agriculture Department likes to point out tobacco farmers get no subsidy. But, under orders from Congress, ~ the Agriculture Department does provide a series of services. The OA Agriculture Department administers those loans to growers. Cost in Ci a recent year, 14.9 million dollars. ~ .yY4,zi.+i• >

-16- MAR- 1 6 lb+nc'a.t Government crop experts advise growers how to avoid or eliminate pests and weeds, coat e00 thousand dollars. Government economists and statisticians-analyze and report production, price levels, market news, and trends for tobacco growers and traders, cost S1,800;006. The government offers two services administrators don't want you to see. c3overnment scientists refused to let us photograph inside their laboratories to show tobacco research they carry out for growers, cost `1,000,000 tax dollars.- Oovernment managers refused to let us photograph inside these offices where they administer the tobacco crop insurance program, cost 1Z.9 million dollars. The cigarette companies and their parent corporations se1L vast amounts of tobacco. In a recent year, K3R Nabisco had 13.8 billion dollars in sales, American Brands 8.2 billion, Lorillard 1.2 billion dollars. If Uncle Sam decided the cigarette companies could afford to pay for these services, eliminating all government assistance for the growing and marketing of tobacco would save the taxpayers about 40 million dollars a year. John Martin, ABC News, Lexington, Kentucky. . t * JENNINGS: So, here's some other choices for that money, 40 million dollars would represent a nearly 50 percent increase in the National Cancer Institute's budget for lung cancer research, or it would pay to vaccinate 310,000 children against common childhood diseases. 1993 That's our report on World News Tonight. 'I'm-Peter Jennings, Nightline later. xave a good evening, good night.