Just Because It's Trending Doesn't Mean It's True

Donald Trump's Veep Choice Mike Pence Is A Cancer Denier: 'Smoking Doesn't Kill!'

  • by: Alan Duke
  • (Fri, 15 Jul 2016 17:08:00 Z)

Mike Pence, the Indiana governor chosen by Donald Trump to be his vice president, wrote while a congressman that warnings about smoking causing cancer deaths is big lie perpetuated by "big government" to control its citizens.

Hillary Clinton's campaign tweeted an excerpt from the Pence column soon after Trump tweeted his vice presidential choice Friday. "Oh, and one time Pence wrote an op-ed titled 'Smoking Doesn't Kill.'" the tweet said.

Pence wrote the column after the tobacco industry settled a class action product liability lawsuit with a huge payout and as congress considered new anti-tobacco laws.

"Despite the hysteria from the political class and the media, smoking doesn't kill," Pence said.

He acknowledged that "smoking is not good for you," but argued that anti-smoking campaigns are about "big government" not good health.

The anti-tobacco movement is just a step toward a march to deny Americans everything that's good, he warned. If the government takes your tobacco, they'll go after your fatty foods and caffeine next. "A government big enough to go after smokes is big enough to go after you,"

Clinton is acting quickly to paint Pence as "Donald Trump with a different haircut."

About the author:

Editor-in-Chief Alan Duke co-founded Lead Stories after ending a 26-year career with CNN, where he mainly covered entertainment, current affairs and politics. Duke closely covered domestic terrorism cases for CNN, including the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, the UNABOMBER and search for Southeast bomber Eric Robert Rudolph. CNN moved Duke to Los Angeles in 2009 to cover the entertainment beat. Duke also co-hosted a daily podcast with former HLN host Nancy Grace, "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" and hosted the podcast series "Stan Lee's World: His Real Life Battle with Heroes & Villains." You'll also see Duke in many news documentaries, including on the Reelz channel, CNN and HLN.

Read more about or contact Alan Duke