WASHINGTON, D.C. -- July 30, 2008 -- The public health community is celebrating today following an historic vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) broad authority to regulate the production and marketing of tobacco products.
House passage of the “Family Smoking Prevention Tobacco Control Act” (H.R. 1108/S. 625) by a veto proof majority of 326-102 sends a strong message to the Senate to pass this landmark piece of consumer protection legislation that will put an end to Big Tobacco's decades-long campaign of targeting children and deceiving adults.
“The tobacco industry has thrived on the business of addiction for decades by turning children into tobacco users with slick marketing tactics and misleading the public about the harms of its deadly products,” said John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “This bill forces Big Tobacco to disclose the poisons in its products and has the power to finally break the dangerous chain of addiction for generations to come.”
Today’s vote is a milestone for the nearly 700 public health, medical and faith-based organizations that have worked to increase support for the bill. ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy partner of the American Cancer Society, has mobilized grassroots advocates across the country and worked with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to garner strong bipartisan support for the bill, which is overwhelmingly supported by every segment of the American public, including smokers.
“Children can’t vote for Members of Congress, but this bill gives Congress a chance to vote for children, 4,000 of whom try their first cigarette every day,” said Daniel E. Smith, president of ACS CAN. “Millions of people touched by cancer are counting on lawmakers to protect our children and make this bill a reality.”
Tobacco, which kills more than 400,000 people in America each year, is the only legally consumable product still unregulated by the FDA. The tobacco industry spends almost $40 million every day aggressively marketing its products. If enacted, the “Family Smoking Prevention Tobacco Control Act” would ban marketing and sales to kids; require disclosure of ingredients and larger, more specific health warnings; empower the FDA to require tobacco companies to reduce or eliminate harmful ingredients in their products; ban candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes and eliminate false health claims. In short, this bill will save lives.
ACS CAN commends Reps. John Dingell (D-MI), Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Tom Davis (R-VA) for their unwavering support for the bill. The Senate now has an opportunity to pass this bill this year and protect children from the tobacco industry. ACS CAN joins the public health community in calling on the Senate to follow the House lead and quickly pass this legislation to regulate tobacco products, which kill when used as directed.
ACS CAN is the nonprofit, nonpartisan partner advocacy 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
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Audrey Pernik
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