Senators have refused to increase spending sought by President Clinton to enforce a crackdown on illegal purchases of cigarettes by teen-agers. To some, the government's dire health warnings against tobacco use don't mesh with actions that prop up tobacco. The Senate also defeated on a 52-48 vote Wednesday a move to increase funding for the teen smoking prevention program. The measure generally keeps funding levels intact compared to last year and includes no cuts in other crop subsidy programs. Durbin said tobacco is different from the 66 other crops that receive insurance subsidies because of the multiple health problems it causes - problems that cost the government billions of dollars.
Tobacco is perfectly legal.
You have to eat a lot of corn and soybeans to die. Tobacco-state senators argued that abolishing insurance for growers would force many to stop cultivating the crop and damage the economies of rural areas. And the cigarette companies, they said, would simply get their tobacco from overseas or from large operations that can afford private policies. American farmers go out of business and whole communities in the South die. Durbin, who sponsored the 1987 law that ended smoking on domestic airlines, said growers should be on notice that efforts to abolish the subsidy will continue.