Most pundits agree that Bob Dole's off-the-cuff remarks in a tobacco state
that he didn't think cigarettes were addicting eventually proved very
damaging to his campaign when broadcast around the nation.

Bill Clinton, in Spain for a NATO summit, opined that a potential black
market in cigarettes was not a big concern. "What is a black market, after
all?" Clinton asked. "A 1 percent penetration of the market, a 3 percent
penetration of the market? Would we deny the FDA the right to protect 100
percent of our children because there might be a few black market
cigarettes around? I think that is unreasonable."

This is a reckless statement to make in the face of our failed experiment
with alcohol prohibition and our bloated and failing drug war. There are an
estimated 40 million to 50 million smokers who could represent quite a
black market indeed. Perhaps Presidents away from the office should be more
thoughtful, or at least more circumspect.

Thomas J. O'Connell