Bill Gates, NYC mayor unite against a killer: tobacco

In his first event as a full-time philanthropist, Bill Gates joined New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg Wednesday in committing a combined $500 million to help governments around the world cut tobacco use. Bill Gates, who is backing scientific research to solve some of the world's worst diseases such as AIDS and malaria, is now putting his money behind a drive to change an entrenched social habit that kills even more people: smoking. In his first event as full-time philanthropist, Gates joined New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg Wednesday in committing a combined $500 million to help governments around the world cut tobacco use. "In some ways this challenge is really more about policy and getting society energized than it is about waiting for a scientific breakthrough," Gates said. The two former businessmen pledged to boost... [read full story]