House Health Subcommittee Acts to Protect Kids and Save Lives

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 11, 2008) – The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health today acted to protect our children and the nation’s health by approving legislation granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products. This is a very strong bill that provides the FDA with ample resources and effective authority to bring about fundamental change that will promote public health.

Today’s subcommittee vote moves Congress a critical step closer to enacting truly historic legislation that can protect our children from tobacco addiction and save countless lives. There are few actions Congress can take that would make a bigger difference for our nation’s health. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, Health Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone and U.S. Reps. Henry Waxman and Tom Davis, the bill’s sponsors, have been true champions of public health in moving this legislation forward.

Despite the death and disease they cause, tobacco products are virtually unregulated to protect public health. Tobacco companies take advantage of this lack of regulation to design and market products that entice children, create and sustain addiction to nicotine, and discourage current smokers from quitting, as demonstrated by a report released last month by a coalition of public health organizations (report: www.tobaccofreekids.org/productsreport). The report reveals how tobacco manufacturers have responded to declines in smoking by introducing a new generation of deadly and addictive products, including candy and fruit-flavored products that appeal to kids and products that try to deter smokers from quitting by making unproven and misleading claims that they are less harmful than traditional cigarettes.

The legislation approved today would grant the FDA authority to:
· Restrict tobacco advertising and promotions, especially to children.
· Ban candy-flavored cigarettes.
· Require tobacco companies to disclose the contents of tobacco products, changes to their products and research about the health effects of their products.
· Require changes in tobacco products, such as the removal or reduction of harmful ingredients.
· Prohibit health claims about so-called “reduced risk” products that are not scientifically proven or that would discourage current tobacco users from quitting or encourage new users to start.
· Require larger, more effective health warnings on tobacco products.
· Prohibit misleading terms such as “low-tar,” “light” and “mild.”

The FDA is the right agency to regulate tobacco products because it is the only agency with the combination of regulatory experience, scientific expertise and public health mandate to do the job right. It is also important to note that the legislation would require tobacco companies to pay user fees that would amply fund the FDA’s new tobacco-related responsibilities and ensure they do not impede or take resources from the FDA’s other important work. The legislation also prohibits tobacco manufacturers from claiming that any tobacco product has been approved by the FDA.