Vivek Murthy: We Have to Take the Similar Approach on Gun Violence as We Did with Smoking

EXCERPT:

MURTHY: “Well, Mika, for a long time, this issue has been politicized and polarized, but I think it's time for us to change how we look at it, instead of looking at it as a political issue to recognize it for what it is, which is a public health issue. And the power of doing that is several fold. First, when our office historically has identified an issue as a public health issue that has typically made it a more urgent priority for the country, but it's also opened up the door for us to take a public health approach to that issue. This is what we did with smoking more than half a century ago.”