http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/19/opinion/a-judges-view-of-tobacco-lobby-money-over-morality.html 2016-09-20 10:14:44 A Judge’s View of Tobacco Lobby: ‘Money Over Morality’ H. Lee Sarokin, who presided over the first tobacco cases, is dubious of the industry’s claim that e-cigarettes promote public health. === To the Editor: Re “ Not much has changed. Decades ago tobacco companies were advertising that cigarettes were good for you and that certain brands were recommended by doctors. Now the industry is claiming that e-cigarettes “improve people’s lives.” They insist that if the Food and Drug Administration examines their products for public health and risks, it “could hurt public health by forcing a large share of e-cigarette companies out of business.” “A 900 percent increase in high schoolers using e-cigarettes” is what hurts public health — not the purveyors going out of business. I presided over the first tobacco litigation for about 10 years until I was “All too often in the choice between the physical health of consumers and the financial well-being of business, concealment is chosen over disclosure, sales over safety, and money over morality. Who are these persons who knowingly and secretly decide to put the buying public at risk solely for the purpose of making profits and who believe that illness and death of consumers is an appropriate cost of their own prosperity!” H. LEE SAROKIN La Jolla, Calif. The writer is a retired federal judge.