WASHINGTON, D.C. -- March 30, 2012 -- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today issued strong draft guidelines detailing the obligations of the tobacco companies to provide scientific proof of any claims that their products reduce harm to the public, including existing and potential consumers, and to report the quantity of each of the potentially most ælethal elements in its products. For the first time, Big Tobacco will have to provide proof to the FDA that a product poses less risk to public health before marketing it as such, and to disclose previously unknown information about the harmful substances in its products. With today's announcement, the FDA signaled that it is boldly moving forward with implementation of a crucial piece of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, historic public health legislation signed into law in 2009 which grants the FDA the authority to regulate the manufacture, sale and marketing of tobacco products. The law forbids tobacco companies from using deceptive descriptions such as light, mild and low-tar in the marketing and packaging of cigarettes. After years of unfettered access to existing and prospective smokers, peddling unproven information about so-called safer products, Big Tobacco is restrained from finding alternate ways to mislead the American public about the supposed reduced harm of their products without hard evidence to support their claims. Tobacco kills more than 443,000 Americans each year, causes more than 80 percent of lung cancer deaths and is responsible for nearly one-third of all cancers. For decades, the tobacco industry has led aggressive and misleading marketing campaigns to addict the American public to its products. Evidence shows smokers have historically been harmed thinking they were using less dangerous products due to false information provided by Big Tobacco. ACS CAN continues to work to strongly implement the landmark law and protect the public from Big Tobacco's unscrupulous efforts to addict new users and keep current smokers hooked. 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 www.fightcancer.org. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Lauren Walens or Steven Weiss American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Phone: (202) 661-5763 or (202) 661-5711 Email: [email protected] or [email protected] #Tobacco #FDA #cancer #cessation #acscan