Tobacco Bill Reaches Critical Juncture
- Apr 1, 2008 - 1
A much-anticipated but potentially divisive vote on legislation to clamp down on a product that kills roughly 400,000 Americans each year is scheduled this week in a congressional committee.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee will take up a bill April 2 that would finally require the tobacco industry’s largely unregulated products to undergo the oversight of the Food and Drug Administration. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1108) would enable the FDA to crack down on tobacco marketing and sales to kids, stop tobacco companies from misleading the public about the health risks of their products, and force tobacco companies to make changes in these products, such as the reduction or removal of harmful ingredients.
Most products that line the shelves of convenience stores—from cookies to cosmetics to dog food—share one signature trait: each underwent the scrutiny of the Food and Drug Administration. Disturbingly, tobacco products are exceptions. Manufacturers roll dozens of carcinogens into their addictive, nicotine-packed products, such as cigarettes and cigars, with no mandate to disclose the cancer-causing agents to consumers.
The multi-billion-dollar profits enjoyed by tobacco companies come at a high price to the nation as a whole and families in particular who must shoulder the burden of death, disease, and addiction left in tobacco’s wake. Year after year tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
Through its $13 billion marketing campaign each year, the industry is targeting the younger generation in hopes of luring them into a lifelong habit. And it has been quite successful doing so. Each day, approximately 4,000 kids try a cigarette for the first time and another 1,000 kids become regular smokers. The majority of adult smokers, 80 percent, began smoking by age 18.
Non-smokers are paying, too, with their health and their pocketbooks. Annually, secondhand smoke leads to the death of nearly 50,000 Americans, according to a Surgeon General report, and public and private health costs associated with smoking exceed $96 billion.
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, joined by a diverse coalition of faith organizations and health organizations, hopes Congress will help reverse the deception and heartbreak brought by tobacco by acting soon on the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
The bill has already overcome two significant hurdles. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee passed companion legislation (S. 625) in August, five months after ERLC President Dr. Richard Land testified before the panel in favor of the bill. And last month a House subcommittee cleared the bill for a full committee review.
If you would like to end special treatment for tobacco companies and help prevent them from marketing to children, please urge members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to vote for the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1108). Even if he or she is not on the committee, please urge your senators and representative to cosponsor the legislation.
For more information:
Further Learning
Learn more about: Family, Addictions, Substance Abuse, Citizenship, Legislation
1 comments (post your own) feed
1 On Apr 7th, 2008, at 6:41am, Samuel Gitonga wrote:
I am interested in following up the drugs abuse issue especially relating to young people. Information is power and i will help them accordingly. please send me infomation that will help me accomplish this.