Fuming Over A Hazardous Export

U.S. tobacco firms catch flak for pushing cigarettes in Asia

During his eight-year tenure as Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop campaigned passionately against cigarette smoking among Americans. Last week Koop took on the tobacco industry once again, but this time he was fighting the sale of U.S. cigarettes in Asia. Testifying before a committee of the U.S. Trade Representative's office, Koop blasted the industry's contention that the U.S. Government should pressure Thailand, which bans all cigarette imports, to open its market to American manufacturers. Said Koop, who retires Oct. 1: "At a time when we are pleading with foreign governments to stop the export of cocaine, it is the height of...

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