On 7 April, I wrote this about Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, the then U.S. Surgeon General:
"The fact that they are at least 95 per cent safer than combustible tobacco appears lost on Dr. Murthy. He has also concluded that exposure to second hand vapour is harmful, despite studies proving the opposite. Of all the things that young people could mixed up with, e-cigarettes are likely to be the least harmful. Although I am not advocating the use of tobacco or nicotine, the elephant in the room is that if e-cigarettes did not exist, many of those young Americans who have tried them would have gone on to smoke cigarettes. He should be grateful that this is not happening and that those young Americans who have tried e-cigarettes are not experimenting with much more dangerous drugs. But these things are always lost on the evangelical proselytising purist. Their focus is so narrow that they completely fail to see the bigger picture.
"We need to keep on stating the bleeding obvious until people like Dr. Murthy are replaced by those pragmatists with open minds. In some countries, I fear that we are in for a long wait."
Well, I didn't have to wait long. As the Huffington Post put it, "And On His 92nd Day, He Fired The Surgeon General". He, of course, being Pres. Trump. I am please Trump has done this. Here's hoping that he is replaced by someone with an open mind.