How You Can Help Hold Big Tobacco Accountable
Nearly 20 years ago, a U.S. Federal District judge found that the major cigarette manufacturers violated civil racketeering laws for deliberately defrauding the public.
News
One Step Closer to FDA Regulation of Tobacco
May 21, 2009
Yesterday evening we took another great step forward in ACS CAN’s campaign to rein in the egregious behavior of the tobacco industry and to protect kids by granting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate tobacco products and their marketing! The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) approved S 982, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, in a bipartisan vote of 15 to 8. No weakening amendments were adopted by the committee.
The bill, recently introduced in the Senate as S 982, gives the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate the manufacture, marketing, and sales of tobacco products. As you know, the full US House of Representatives passed the bill on April 2 by a strong bipartisan majority of 298 to 112. President Obama has indicated he will sign the bill into law.
The next step is the Senate floor. With 52 bipartisan cosponsors and counting, we have the votes for passage. Last year the 110th Congress closed with 60 Senate cosponsors—the critical number necessary to overcome filibusters. Support for S 982 is building and we believe we will again meet the 60 vote threshold.
A vote could come in June, but until it is scheduled and tallied, ACS CAN is keeping up the pressure. Over the past month, ACS CAN advocates have sent more than 1,500 email messages to senators on the HELP Committee and made more than 3,000 phone calls to key senate targets. Additional grassroots activity, media outreach, and a strong print and online advertising campaign are ongoing, including the “schoolhouse” ads that illustrate the number of kids who will try smoking for the first time for each day the Senate fails to act. ACS CAN is also running a counter which tracks how many children have tried their first cigarette since January 1, 2009. You can view the counter and the ad at www.fightcancer.org/protectkids.
As of today, that counter reads 505,258. With the tobacco companies spending nearly $40 million each day to hook them permanently, that means more than 140,000 new smokers. Passing the FDA bill will help put a stop to Big Tobacco’s ability to downplay the danger of their products and their efforts to lure a new generation of consumers with blatantly deceptive advertising, candy- and fruit-flavored cigarette promotions, and free product giveaways.
We could not have gotten this far without the commitment and hard work of volunteers and staff nationwide. Thank you for all you have done and are continuing to do. The finish line is in sight!
Dan
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