PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2016-11-11 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • Did Mike Pence Declare That Smoking Doesn't Kill? (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • On 10 November 2016, the IFLScience blog published an article reporting that Vice President-Elect Mike Pence doesn't believe that smoking kills. The headline traversed Facebook quickly and widely: IFLS referenced a March 2015 BuzzFeed item titled 'Smoking Doesn’t Kill' and Other Great Old Op-Eds from Mike Pence which similarly featured a headline claiming Pence had once stated that smoking doesn't kill and featured archival links to op-eds penned by Pence back in 2000. However, Pence's editorial pertained to the role of Big Government with respect to adult tobacco use and largely railed against anti-tobacco legislation which he maintained impinged on individual freedom: Although Pence did state that smoking doesn't kill, he buttressed his argument by saying that only a third of smokers died of smoking-related illnesses (and that only one in ten developed lung cancer) while unequivocally declaring that smoking is not good for you. The clumsy choice of wording (in a paragraph that conflicted with itself) cited statistics that were reasonably accurate at the time. Pence maintained that a third of smokers died of smoking-related illnesses, a figure that appeared to come from a 1987 study. Data demonstrating the percentage of smokers who contract lung cancer were mixed, but some indicated the number was roughly ten to 15 percent. In 2015 and 2016, a more than fifteen-year-old op-ed written by Mike Pence drew attention anew as the election of Donald Trump elevated him to the position of Vice President Elect. It was true that Pence's commentary on tobacco restriction stated smoking doesn't kill, but it went on to cite relatively accurate numbers about the risks of smoking. Moreover, Pence's editorial had little to do with the statistical risks associated with tobacco, but rather with his belief that smokers ought to be permitted to smoke if they wished without governmental interference. In his piece, Pence stated that he believed smoking was a poor health choice and that current smokers should quit. Since 2000, Pence has made no similar comments downplaying the risks of smoking that we could find, and his current position on the issue remains unclear. (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url