WASHINGTON, D.C. -- June 8, 2009 -- Cancer patients, survivors and their loved ones are urging the U.S. Senate to pass critical legislation that would save lives by putting an end to Big Tobacco's deceptive practices that attract and addict new, young smokers and keep current smokers from quitting. Following a successful, bipartisan vote today that limits remaining debate and amendments, the U.S. Senate is expected to take a historic vote this week on legislation that would finally grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of tobacco products. The companion legislation in the House of Representatives (H.R. 1256) passed earlier this year by a bipartisan vote of 298-112.
Passage of the “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (S. 982), which has 58 Senate cosponsors from both sides of the aisle, has the potential to reduce the scourge of a product that kills more than 400,000 Americans every year. Senate passage of this important bill, which has been in the works for more than a decade, will clear a major hurdle toward it becoming law.
"This bill has the power to finally break the dangerous chain of addiction for millions of Americans and save them from a lifetime of dependence, disease and premature death that comes with tobacco use, John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). The Senate should pass this strong public health bill in its current form, without any weakening amendments. We call on Congress to complete its work on the bill so that it may become law as soon as possible."
Tobacco is virtually the only consumable product not regulated by the FDA. The tobacco industry’s business practices exploit this undeserved lack of regulation by spending nearly $40 million every day to aggressively market its products, especially to children with, for example, enticing candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes. The legislation would ban such flavoring, stop the marketing of tobacco products to children, require tobacco companies to list the poisons in their products and mandate larger and more effective warning labels on tobacco product packaging.
"By voting for this bill, Senators have the power to stop Big Tobacco from pushing addictive and ultimately lethal products on innocent children, said Daniel E. Smith, president of ACS CAN, the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society. It is time to end Big Tobacco's unfettered access to our nation's youth, 3,500 of whom will pick up their first cigarette today."
ACS CAN has been a leading supporter of the legislation since it was first debated more than a decade ago. The bill is now backed by more than 1,000 public health, medical, children's, and faith-based organizations nationwide.
ACS CAN is the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate organization of the American Cancer Society, dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage lawmakers, candidates and government officials to support laws and policies that will make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer. For more information, visit https://www.fightcancer.org/.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Alissa Havens
Phone: (202) 661-5772
Email: [email protected]
Christina Saull
Phone: (202) 585-3250
Email: [email protected]