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Letter to the Editor: Tobacco related illness cost

By MIKE SAWYER Birmingham
Ala.

Editor,
My plan to sleep in this Saturday was aborted by Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) Majority Leader of the US Senate who was addressing his proposed health care reform bills on the 4 a.m. C-Spann 2 replay.
Sen. Frist a cardiologist was telling his colleagues why they needed to pass his health care reform laws.
He seemed to be compassionately concerned about the health care of all Americans by reducing malpractice law suits.
He mentioned how the new Texas Medical Reform bill had reduced malpractice law suits by 80 percent.
He shared how one of his Tennessee doctors was relocating to Lexington, Ken. in order to avoid the raging Tennessee malpractice law suits.
Several years ago while in seminary near Lexington, Ken. I was wallpapering in the home of a radiologist who walked in that night and pointed to the cigarette his painter was smoking, and declared, “Right there is the reason I moved here from California.”
With tobacco sucking out the life of 450,000 Americans every year can you imagine what the total medical burden may be for these dying addicts?
We know that our constitution guarantees free medical care for all prisoners, but who wants to go to jail to get a free medical ride.
I am aware that Sen. Frist has accepted millions of political-campaign-blood-soaked tobacco bucks for his Republican Party. Regretfully, I know nothing of his position on preventing the medical cost of tobacco illness.
Do you know of any public pill that Dr. Frist has publicly prescribed for America to take to avoid tobacco related medical cost?
Oh, my suggestion is that Senator Frist include that any proven tobacco related illness cost be paid in full by legal-but-lethal big tobacco, not innocent healthy tax payers, especially like you in Utah.

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