Tobacco.org

Senator smoke-free 

No one wants to see people suffer from smoking-related illnesses. It's no different with Sen. Michael B. Enzi, Wyoming Republican, except that he has a pulpit and a plan. And for him, it's personal.

Mr. Enzi's idea is to make America a nearly smoke-free country. He scoffs at the idea that his campaign is an affront to free enterprise and a violation of Republican principles.

"I remember my first Senate campaign. I got a check for $5,000 from a tobacco company. I had such a strong opposition to tobacco, I said, 'If it bothers me this much, it's the wrong thing to do.' I sent the check back, and I've always turned down tobacco money."

For him, tobacco use is a deeply personal issue. The senator recalls how his father, a smoker for 50 years, quit after seeing a video of children reaching into a beaker representing a smoker's lung filled with a year's worth of cigarette tar.

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