Washington, D.C. -- September 18, 2009 -- Tobacco companies will begin to feel the unwelcome impact of federal regulation of their industry, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ban on candy- and fruit- flavored cigarettes goes into effect on Tuesday, September 22, 2009.
The ban, which is mandated by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act signed into law in June, requires tobacco companies to immediately stop manufacturing cigarettes with candy- and fruit-flavorings, and for candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes already on store shelves to be removed.
“Big Tobacco for years has used candy- and fruit-flavorings in their cigarettes to attract and addict young smokers,” said John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., CEO of the American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “The ban on cigarette flavors that are blatantly intended to hook children is a critical first step toward reversing that trend.”
Every day, 3,500 children pick up their first cigarette and 1,000 children become addicted smokers. One study found that as many as 20 percent of smokers 17 to 19 years of age have smoked flavored cigarettes, compared to only 6 percent of smokers over the age of 25.
“The tobacco industry has spent the last 50 years misleading smokers about the dangers of tobacco use and marketing to youth,” said Daniel E. Smith, president of ACS CAN. “The ban on candy- and fruit-flavorings in cigarettes is only one aspect of this lifesaving new law that has the potential to break the deadly cycle of addiction and put an end to Big Tobacco’s targeting of our nation’s children.”
Prior to the enactment of this new law, tobacco products were virtually the only consumable product not regulated in the U.S. The tobacco industry spends more than $35 million every day to aggressively market its products to addict new, young smokers, keep current users from quitting and mislead the public about the harms of their products. The law will, among other things:
ACS CAN, the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, is a leading group working to ensure effective implementation of the law. ACS CAN joined more than 1,000 organizations from the public health, medical, children’s and faith-based communities to support the passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in Congress. Together, the Society and ACS CAN have been leaders in the fight for strong tobacco control policies at the federal, state, and local levels for decades.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit https://www.fightcancer.org/.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTCT:
Christina Saull
Phone: (202) 585-3250
Email: [email protected]
Steve Weiss
Phone: (202) 661-5771
Email: [email protected]