Another Tobacco Report Proposed

Abstract

BURIED in massive federal tax law corrections are five paragraphs requesting the surgeon general of the Public Health Service to study the health care costs of smoking. Put into the House bill by Representative Michael A. Andrews (D, Texas), the legislation calls for a report to be sent to Congress every two years. The study would also compare smokers with those passively exposed to tobacco and with nonsmokers and would survey incidence of smoking in the United States. The House passed its version of the tax revision bill in August. A similar bill has yet to be acted upon by the Senate. The legislation has been opposed by a number of senators from tobacco-growing states. But this opposition is not the central problem. There are significant differences between the two bills in terms of the tax revisions they contain. These could slow passage of the Senate bill, particularly as there