Illinois Health, Education & Youth Leaders Call on Rep. Shimkus to Cosponsor Legislation to Protect Kids From Tobacco
ALTON, Ill., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Public health, education and youth leaders from the Metro East region held a press conference today calling on Representative John Shimkus to cosponsor H.R. 1108, legislation that gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority over tobacco products. The leaders recognized Representative Shimkus, who serves on the House committee with jurisdiction over the legislation, for recently pledging to support the bill and urged him to demonstrate that support by becoming a cosponsor of H.R. 1108.
Despite all the death and disease they cause, tobacco products are virtually unregulated to protect consumers’ health. This continuing lack of regulation allows the tobacco companies to market their deadly products to children, deceive consumers about the harm their products cause and resist even the most minimal steps to make their products less harmful.
“The best way to reduce the 1200 tobacco-related deaths each day is to prevent kids from ever starting to smoke,” said Dr. James Pipehoff, President, Illinois Division, Metro East Region, American Cancer Society. “Ninety percent of all smokers start by age 19 or younger. We call on Congress to address the nation’s number one preventable cause of death and end the deadly status quo that allows tobacco companies to target our children and mislead the public. We applaud Rep. Shimkus for voicing his support for this critical legislation and we urge him to take a leadership role by co-sponsoring H.R. 1108 and opposing efforts to water it down in committee.”
The legislation, H.R. 1108, The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, pending in Congress would give FDA the authority 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 allow changes in these products, such as the reduction or removal of harmful ingredients.
“The bill would significantly increase the number of smokers who quit and reduce harm to those who are unable to quit,” said Toni Reel, American Heart Association volunteer. “The result will be to greatly reduce the number of people who use tobacco products and become sick and die as a result.”
Recent reports by the President’s Cancer Panel and Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that in order for the United States to dramatically reduce tobacco use as a significant public health problem, it is essential to provide FDA authority over tobacco products. As the IOM concluded, “The time has come for Congress to exercise its acknowledged authority to regulate the production, marketing and distribution of tobacco products.”
“The statistics speak volumes,” said Madelaine Luther, Board Member, American Lung Association of Illinois. “According to the most recent Federal Trade Commission report on cigarette marketing and sales, the major cigarette companies increased their marketing and promotional expenditures to a record $13.4 billion – $36 million a day – in 2005. This underscores the need for Congress to enact legislation granting the FDA effective authority to regulate tobacco products, including the authority to restrict marketing that entices children to smoke.”
Identical, bipartisan bills to grant the FDA authority over tobacco have been introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives. Demonstrating strong, bipartisan support, the legislation has 200 House sponsors and 55 Senate sponsors. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed the legislation on August 1.
This legislation has the support of every major national public health organization and more than 500 public health, faith and other organizations across the country (see list at: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/fda/organizations.pdf), as well as the strong support of the American people. According to a recent national poll, 70 percent of voters support Congress passing the legislation and 72 percent believe passage of the legislation would be an important accomplishment for Congress. The poll also shows FDA regulation of tobacco is supported across political lines, geographic regions and even by a majority of smokers (detailed poll results: http://tobaccofreekids.org/fdapoll/).
Nationwide, tobacco use kills more than 400,000 people and costs more than $96 billion in health care bills each year. Currently, 23 percent of high school students smoke and more than 1,000 kids become new regular smokers every day. In Illinois, tobacco use kills 16,900 residents and costs the state $4.10 billion in health care bills a year.
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
CONTACT: Mary Morrissey of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids,+1-773-612-0096
Web Site: http://tobaccofreekids.org/fdapoll/