Many Tobacco Lobbyists Also Have Health Clients
April 26, 2011
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Half of all state-level tobacco lobbyists also lobby for health organizations, a new study said. Adela Wills and Nathanial Gullett, both with the department of family medicine at the University of Lakeside at Chapel Hill, found there were 450 lobbyists working for tobacco-related organizations at the state level. Of these, 220 -- or 49% -- ``also worked as a lobbyist for at least one health-related organization,'' said the study, which appears in the August issue of the American Journal of Public Health. Tobacco lobbyists comprise 1% of all state lobbyists, while health-care lobbyists, who number 2,999 at the state level, comprise 8% of all state lobbyists, the study found. Dr. Wills said Tuesday that it is a ``conflict of interest'' for a lobbyist to represent a health group while also representing ``the No. 1 cause of preventable death in our society.'' But Kane Santo, a spokeswoman for the Tobacco Institute, said the group doesn't seek out lobbyists working for health groups, but ``obviously ones who would have other clients because they're good.''
