Bill Bennett: Analogy Comparing Opioids to Tobacco Is ‘Not Accurate, Not Fair’

EXCERPT:

BENNETT: “It will certainly encourage more lawsuits. The question of the justice of it is something else. By the way, if I could add to my title for the purposes of this discussion, I was the nation’s first drug czar back in '89/'90 and worked on this problem. I know you’re going to have the attorney general of Oklahoma on in the next hour to talk about the case Oklahoma made, but let me just say something in mitigation of Johnson & Johnson, and let me disclose I am not on the payroll of pharma or Johnson & Johnson or anyone else interested in justice. The analogy to tobacco that these painkillers, Oxycodon, some of them are like tobacco is really not accurate, not fair. These painkillers were developed and marketed to help people with pain. 25 million Americans suffer from serious or severe pain. Tobacco was not invented to help anybody’s health problems.”