WASHINGTON, DC On the fifth anniversary of the landmark 2009 law granting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority over tobacco products, 10 leading public health and medical organizations today commended the FDA for the steps it has taken to reduce tobacco use and called on the FDA and the Obama Administration to take three urgent and bold actions to accelerate progress.
The following joint statement was issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Americans for Nonsmokers ' Rights, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Legacy, National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, Smoking Cessation Leadership Center, and Tobacco Control Legal Consortium.
Joint Statement by Leading Public Health and Medical Organizations
On June 22, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which granted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco products.æ This landmark law created an unprecedented opportunity for the federal government to address the enormous public health problems posed by tobacco use, the number one cause of preventable death in the United States.
On the fifth anniversary of this law, our organizations commend the FDA for the important steps it has taken to reduce tobacco use, especially among kids.æ We now call on the FDA and the Obama Administration to take even stronger and bolder action to accelerate progress and ultimately end the tobacco epidemic for good.æ Specifically, we call on the FDA and the Administration to take three priority actions:
These three actions will build on the steps the FDA has taken and more fully utilize the broad authority the 2009 law granted to the FDA to significantly reduce tobacco use in the United States.æ The FDA has already taken important actions.æ It has restricted tobacco marketing, especially to children; ended the sale of candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes that appealed to kids; cracked down on illegal tobacco sales to kids; banned misleading health claims about cigarettes such as light and low-tar; and launched a national media campaign to prevent youth tobacco use.æ These actions are helping to reduce tobacco use and save lives in the United States.
However, as the latest Surgeon General 's report made clear, our nation 's tobacco epidemic calls for even bolder actions. While the U.S. has made tremendous progress in reducing tobacco use, the Surgeon General found that smoking still kills 480,000 Americans each year, sickens millions more and costs the nation at least $289 billion in health care bills and other economic losses each year.
The report also laid out a roadmap of specific actions that must be taken to accelerate progress against tobacco.æ These actions include [e]ffective implementation of FDA 's authority for tobacco product regulation in order to reduce tobacco product addictiveness and harmfulness.
As the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon General 's report and the fifth anniversary of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, our organizations call on the FDA and the Obama Administration to take action that can create a tobacco-free generation and end the tobacco epidemic for good.
CONTACTS:
Lauren Walens, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, 202-661-5763
Peter Hamm, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 202-296-5469
Julia Cartwright, Legacy, 202-454-5596
Retha Sherrod, American Heart Association, 202-785-7929
Chaunda Roseborough-Smith, American Lung Association, 312-801-7645
Jamie Poslosky, American Academy of Pediatrics, 202-724-3301