Tobacco Joe Cryan Taken To Task

Instead of fighting to protect New Jersey residents from the dangers of smoking, Assemblyman Joseph Cryan has been an advocate for the tobacco industry who collects large campaign donations from cigarette makers and dealers.
Cryan accepted donations from at least $3,000 from one local tobacco dealer, Deep Amin of Union. Tobacco giant Philip Morris has repeatedly provided Cryan and committees he controls with campaign cash.
In turn, Cryan strongly opposed the state's indoor smoking ban and worked behind the scenes to cushion the tobacco industry from tax increases.
Critics who say Cryan sold out are among the reform Democrats that formed an independent slate in this year's election.
Marlene Abitano and Lester Dominguez are challenging Cryan and his incumbent running mate, Assemblyman Neil Cohen. No Republicans filed petitions seeking election to the Assembly in the district, which includes Elizabeth, Union, Roselle and Kenilworth.
The tobacco industry is typically aligned with the Republican Party, but New Jersey's culture of corruption makes relationships such as that of Cryan and big tobacco quite common.
More than 325 million packs of cigarettes were sold in New Jersey in 2005, according to tobacco industry figures that also projected a $65 million profit from Garden State residents alone. "
All those involved in the production and marketing of tobacco products are 'terrorists', declared Dr John Seffrin, president of the American Cancer Society, who notes that smokers lose an average of 13 to 15 years of life.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that second-hand smoke causes up to 62,000 deaths among nonsmokers each year in the United States, where 300,000 children develop respiratory infections from exposure to second-hand smoke.
The independent challengers will test whether voters are willing to tolerate a politician like Cryan lining up with tobacco companies in the effort to kill kids.