ERLC’s Land Calls on President to Support Tobacco Regulation
- Dec 18, 2007 - comment
As part of ongoing efforts to reduce the number of Americans who become addicted to tobacco and subsequently die from tobacco-related illnesses, Dr. Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, urged President Bush in a letter last week to add his support to legislation that would end special privileges for tobacco companies by requiring that tobacco products undergo strict regulation before they are marketed to the public.
ERLC Vice President for Public Policy Barrett Duke delivered Dr. Land’s letter to the president to the White House’s Tim Goeglein on Dec. 12.
“I am writing on behalf of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention to strongly urge you to support life-saving legislation now before the United States Congress to authorize the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products (S. 625 and H.R. 1108),” Dr. Land stated in the letter.
“We hope that you will join us in support of this measure which will save many thousands of Americans, particularly children, from the horrors of tobacco-caused illness and death,” he added.
Also included with the letter was Dr. Land’s testimony given in February before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee expressing support for the bill, a letter by 23 faith leaders sent to every member of Congress urging them to support the bill, and a resolution to reduce teen smoking passed by the Southern Baptist Convention in 2005.
Entitled the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the measure would empower the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the sale, marketing, and manufacturing of tobacco products.
Ironically, products ranging from toothpaste to lipstick to dog food must undergo the scrutiny of the FDA, yet tobacco products, sold in convenience stores on almost every street corner, face virtually no regulation. The legislation would simply level the playing field.
The slick marketing schemes of tobacco manufacturers and the dangers of tobacco use are clear. Each day, 4,000 children try a cigarette for the first time and another 1,000 children become addicted, many of them lured by cleaver marketing and candy-flavored cigarettes. Additionally, 400,000 Americans succumb to cancer-related illnesses each year, making tobacco use the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
The legislation has earned widespread support from both the faith and public health communities. More than 20 faith denominations and organizations, including the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church, the National Council of Churches in Christ, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and the Seventh-day Adventists, as well as the ERLC, have joined together as Faith United Against Tobacco to push for enactment of the bill. Further, nearly 60 national public health organizations, such as the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association, are backing FDA regulation of tobacco.
Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are lending support as well. Currently, the House bill has 214 cosponsors, while the Senate version, which passed in committee in August, has 54 cosponsors.
The ERLC is hopeful the legislation will be taken up quickly by the full House and Senate in the new year.
If you would like to end special treatment for tobacco companies and help prevent them from marketing to children, please urge your senators and congressman to cosponsor the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (S. 625/H.R. 1108). Congress will soon leave Washington for a few weeks, making it a great time to visit them in their district offices.
Related articles:
Faith United Against Tobacco letter to Congress expressing support for FDA regulation of tobacco
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