Dec 9, 2002 4 min read

American smokers would need strong stomachs to look at a pack of cigarettes if some members of Congress get their way. A bill now in a House subcommittee would require a huge, often gory, close-up color photo on packs and cartons, to illustrate grisly written warnings about smoking health hazards. The bill says those photos could show a diseased lung, heart or mouth, someone suffering tobacco addiction, children watching an adult smoke, or a pregnant woman or infant suffering the adverse effects of secondhand smoke. The photos would cover 50 percent of the front and back panels of every cigarette pack and carton, with the warning labels in much larger type than now required. Similar photos and labels have been required by Canadian law for 20 months. … Skeptics may scoff, but Canadian Cancer Society officials credit the picture warnings with helping encourage 600,000 Canadians to quit in 2001, about 10 percent of the total. Their studies show high approval ratings, among both smokers and nonsmokers, and agreement among smokers that the photos increased their motivation to quit. …

On the U.S.-Saudi relationship:

Like a long marriage, the U.S.-Saudi relationship is full of compromise and accommodation – and of persistent conflict that, by necessary agreement, isn’t much mentioned till it flares into crisis.

In the American view, Riyadh could take a more enlightened view of human rights, particularly women’s rights. A more vigorous role in promoting Arab-Israeli peace would be appreciated, too. More critical is the Saudi government’s willingness to shelter Islamic extremists and to ignore, if not enable, a steady flow of funds from Saudi citizens, businesses and charities to Al-Qaida and other terror groups. The royal family’s bargain with Wahhabi imams – we’ll endorse your theology so long as you don’t challenge our right to rule – has always been repellent, and with the Sept. 11 attacks became intolerable.

To maintain a posture of patience, Washington paints the Saudis as a “good partner” in the war on terrorism and as a moderate, stable ally in a region where we badly need such. But everyone knows this marriage would be far different if not for oil. …

These are among the reasons why keeping the peace with Saudi Arabia has been such good business, if not particularly noble politics. And they’re prime reasons why Americans must start seeing energy security not only as a question of diversifying our suppliers, but also as an imperative to reduce oil imports through aggressive investment in conservation, efficiency and renewable domestic energy sources. No international relationship based on plain dependency can be healthy.

On U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq:

Time is beginning to run out in Iraq. The U.N. weapons inspectors are working full steam and within a week Iraq will have to account for its possession of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. A war could still be avoided. But if military operations will become a reality, it will not be the first phase that causes problems – the U.S. has capacity enough to win a possible war. The real challenge comes when the weapons have fallen silent. There will be massive and costly efforts for a long time if the present threat from Baghdad will not be replaced by a new one.

On filming jury deliberations:

A Texas appeals court was wise to temporarily block the Public Broadcasting System from filming jury deliberations in a murder case involving a 17-year-old.

It should bar the practice permanently, because there is no way to film jury room discussions secretly, and there is no way jurors won’t be influenced if they know that the outside world is watching.

They will inevitably play to the camera, which can only distract them from the evidence and their primary responsibility.

But the larger issue is whether Texas should give television access to one of the most sacred parts of judicial proceedings. The answer is no, both ethically and legally.