This may sound like a naive, even preposterous, statement. In an era when the federal government seems unresponsive to the pleas of physicians for more protection against micromanagement by insurers and federal agencies, it is not surprising that doctors often feel powerless to influence national health policy. While politicians don't always vote according to whims of the electorate, elected leaders who tune out their constituents' concerns don't remain in office for very long. And just as importantly, your silence can lead a member of Congress to vote in a manner that is not in the best interests of your patients. Recent examples Earlier this year, for example, it was widely expected that Congress would finally enact national legislation to control marketing of tobacco products to the young.
Knowledgeable observers attribute the failure of tobacco legislation to many factors.
One certainly was the decision of the tobacco industry to withdraw from the effort to fashion a bill based on the settlement reached earlier between the industry and state attorneys general. Another was disagreement within the public health community on whether to extend limits on liability to the tobacco industry. But the biggest reason that Congress failed to enact tobacco control legislation is that lawmakers felt that not enough voters strongly supported the bills. Countless legislators reported that although they heard from opponents of the bills, they heard very little from physicians, patients and others who favored them. Although the intent of the bill is to prevent physicians from prescribing narcotics to help patients commit suicide, ACP-ASIM believes that the bill would increase the suffering of dying patients.