This hearing focuses on the need for
FDA regulation of tobacco products, the most lethal of all consumer
products. Used as intended by the companies that manufacture and market
them, cigarettes will kill one out of every three smokers. Yet, the
federal agency most responsible for protecting the public health is
currently powerless to deal with the enormous risks of tobacco use.
Public health experts overwhelmingly believe the passage of S. 625
bipartisan legislation that will at long last give the FDA authority to
regulate tobacco products is the most important action Congress can take
to protect children from this deadly addiction. If Congress fails to act
and smoking continues at its current rate, more than six million of
todayıs children will ultimately die from tobacco-induced disease.
Smoking is the number one preventable
cause of death in America. Nationally, cigarettes kill well over four
hundred thousand people each year. That is more lives lost than from
automobile accidents, alcohol abuse, illegal drugs, AIDS, murder, and
suicide combined. Congress cannot continue to ignore a public health
problem of this magnitude.
Giving FDA authority over tobacco
products will not make the tragic toll of tobacco use disappear
overnight. More than forty million people are hooked on this highly
addictive product and many of them have been unable to quit despite
repeated attempts. However, FDA action can play a major role in breaking
the gruesome cycle that seduces millions of teenagers into a lifetime of
addiction and premature death.
What can FDA regulation accomplish?
- It can reduce youth smoking by
preventing tobacco advertising which targets children.
- It can help prevent the sale of
tobacco products to minors.
- It can stop the tobacco industry
from continuing to mislead the public about the dangers of smoking.
- It can help smokers overcome their
addiction.
- It can make tobacco products less
toxic and less addictive for those who continue to use them.
- And it can prohibit
unsubstantiated health claims about supposedly³ reduced risk²
products.
Regulating the conduct of the tobacco
companies is as necessary today as it has been in years past. The facts
presented in the federal governmentıs landmark lawsuit against the
tobacco industry conclusively demonstrate that the misconduct is
substantial and ongoing. The decision of the Court states: ³The evidence
in this case clearly establishes that Defendants have not ceased
engaging in unlawful activity. Defendants continue to engage in conduct
that is materially indistinguishable from their previous actions,
activity that continues to this day.² Only strong FDA regulation can
force the necessary change in their corporate behavior.
We must deal firmly with tobacco
company marketing practices that target children and mislead the public.
The tobacco industry currently spends over fifteen billion dollars each
year to promote its products. Much of that money is spent in ways
designed to tempt children to start smoking, before they are mature
enough to appreciate the enormity of the health risk. The industry knows
that nearly 90% of smokers begin as children and are addicted by the
time they reach adulthood.
If we are serious about reducing youth
smoking, FDA must have the power to prevent industry advertising
designed to appeal to children wherever it will be seen by children.
This legislation will give FDA the authority to stop tobacco advertising
that glamorizes smoking to kids.
FDA authority must extend to the sale
of tobacco products as well to ensure that children under 18 are not
able to buy cigarettes.
The tobacco industry has a long,
dishonorable history of providing misleading information about the
health consequences of smoking.
FDA must have clear and unambiguous
authority to prevent such misrepresentations in the future. The largest
disinformation campaign in the history of the corporate world must end.
The nicotine in cigarettes is highly
addictive. Medical experts say that it is as addictive as heroin or
cocaine. Yet for decades, while tobacco companies were publicly denying
the addictiveness of their products, they were actually chemically
manipulating the nicotine in them to make it even more addictive. A
newly released analysis by the Harvard School of Public Health
demonstrates that cigarette manufacturers are still manipulating
nicotine levels. Between 1998 and 2005, they significantly increased the
nicotine yield from major brand cigarettes.
FDA must have the power to take the
necessary steps to help addicted smokers overcome their addiction, and
to make the product less toxic for smokers who are unable or unwilling
to stop.
This legislation will also require
manufacturers to submit ³reduced risk² products to the FDA for analysis
before they can be marketed. No health-related claims will be permitted
until they have been verified to the FDA's satisfaction. These
safeguards are essential to prevent deceptive industry marketing
campaigns, which could lull the public into a false sense of health
safety.
Enacting this bill this year is the
right thing to do for America's children. They are depending on us. By
passing this legislation, we can help them live longer, healthier lives.
Groups Supporting the ³Family Smoking
Prevention and Tobacco Control Act² (S. 625)
- American Cancer Society
- American Heart Association
- American Lung Association
- Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
- AARP
- Alliance of the American Dental
Association American Academy of Child and
- Adolescent Psychiatry American
Academy of Family Physicians American Academy of
- Nurse Practitioners American
Academy of Pediatrics American Association for
- Respiratory Care American College
of Cardiology American College of Chest Physicians
- American College of Clinical
Oncology American College of Obstetricians and
- Gynecologists American College of
Occupational and Environmental Medicine
- American College of Physicians
American College of Preventative Medicine American
- Dental Association American Dental
Hygienists' Association American Medical
- Association American Psychological
Association American Public Health Association
- American Society of Addiction
Medicine American Society of Clinical Oncology
- American Thoracic Society
Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs
- Children's Defense Fund Community
Anti-Drug Coalitions of America General Board of
- Church & Society of the United
Methodist Church Hadassah The Women's Zionist
- Organization of America
Interreligious Coalition on Smoking or Health March of Dimes
- National African American Tobacco
Prevention Network National Association of County & City Health
Officials National Association of Local Boards of Health National
- Education Association National
Hispanic Medical Association National Latino Council on Alcohol and
Tobacco Prevention National Partnership for Women & Families
- National Women's Law Center
Oncology Nursing Society Oral Health America
- Partnership for Prevention
Seventh-day Adventist Church Christian Methodist Church
- Islamic Society of North America
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations
- World Sikh Council Religious
Action Center of Reform Judaism American Baptist Churches of the
South American Baptist Churches USA Southern Baptist Convention
- Brethren Witness Presbyterian
Church (USA) Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
- National Episcopal Health
Ministries Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Church
- Women United National Council of
Churches of Christ in the USA United Church of Christ General
Commission on United Methodist Men.
