Politics

In Oval Office Meeting, Uruguay’s President Lectures Obama About Evils Of Smoking

Vince Coglianese Editorial Director
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Uruguayan President Jose Mujica lectured President Obama  in the Oval Office Monday about the dangers of smoking.

Obama, of course, is famous for — among other things — being an on-again, off-again smoker.

“In the world, 8 million people are dying from smoking” each year, Mujica told Obama in what a White House pool report referred to as “a friendly lecture.”

Mujica was likely referring to a prediction by the World Health Organization, which forecasts approximately 8 million tobacco-related deaths annually by 2030.

“It’s murder. … We are in an arduous fight … against very strong [corporate] interests,” Mujica said.

The pool report notes that “Obama was facing Mujica, listening intently and nodding slightly.”

Mujica also declared that Americans need to prepare for changes in demographics, citing “the strength of Latin women:”

“[Y]ou will have to become a bilingual country — yes, or yes? Because the strength of Latin women is admirable, and they will fill this country.”

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