Pallone Praises House Approval of Tobacco Bill

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., an original co-sponsor of the landmark tobacco control legislation that gained final congressional approval on Friday, said the new regulatory authority over the production and marketing of tobacco products will save lives, improve public health, reduce the medical costs of treating smokers and, most importantly, help protect young people from an addiction that takes a tighter grip the longer they smoke.

"Smoking kills," said Pallone. "Tobacco is the deadliest product on the market today. It is the number-one cause of preventable death in America. From now on it will be regulated as the addictive drug that it is.

"Most importantly, we will now have the ability to protect young people from the insidious marketing techniques used to entice them at an age when they are impressionable and vulnerable. If they become hooked when they are young, their ability to break the habit in later years can be extremely difficult. We have a responsibility to protect our young people. Now we will have the ability and the authority," Pallone said, as he pointed to the "deadly facts of tobacco."

• Tobacco is responsible for 443,000 deaths per year.
• Every day, more than 3,500 try cigarettes for the first time.
• Every day, 1,000 young people become daily smokers.
• Smoking costs the country $96 billion in health care annually.
• Smoking causes $97 billion annually in lost productivity.

From the floor of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi today singled out Pallone for his work advancing the strongest action Congress has taken to reduce the ill effects of tobacco.

After today's approval of the bill, The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, now goes to President Obama, who has said he will sign it into law.

By empowering the Food and Drug Administration with regulatory authority and resources it needs, we will be able to take the following actions:

• Subject new tobacco products to pre-market review;
• Require prior approval of all label statements;
• Restrict the sale or distribution of tobacco products, including advertising and promotion;
• Take public notification and recall, against unreasonably harmful products;
• Establish tobacco product standards to protect the public health;
• Set standards for the sale of "modified risk" tobacco products;
• Prohibit cigarettes from containing any artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol);
• Restrict tobacco marketing and sales to youth;
• Establish a Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee;
• Amend the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to change cigarette warning labels and advertising requirements.