Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act--Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

FAMILY SMOKING PREVENTION AND TOBACCO CONTROL ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED -- (Senate - June 03, 2009)

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Mr. REED. Madam President, I rise today in support of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, but first, I would like to take a moment to recognize the outstanding leadership of Chairman Kennedy on this important public health issue. This is not the first time he has ushered a bill on this topic from committee to the Senate floor. I am confident that my colleagues, in recognition of the tremendous, hazardous effects that tobacco has on children, adolescents, adults, and seniors, will join me in fulfilling one of chairman KENNEDY's wishes, and mine, of finally seeing this bill signed into law.

I would also like to thank Senator Dodd for his dedication in carrying out the aggressive schedule of the HELP Committee set forth by the chairman so we can bring this legislation to the floor.

As a cosponsor of this legislation, I firmly believe that we cannot afford to wait another day for it to be enacted. This is not the first time that I have risen to speak on the importance of regulating the sale of tobacco products, but I am hopeful that with this legislation we will take a giant leap toward eradicating the use of nicotine, by discouraging our youth from ever lighting-up, and chip away at skyrocketing smoking-related healthcare costs.

Every year that passes, and this legislation is not enacted, another 4,700 children in Rhode Island try a cigarette for the first time--that amounts to 1,400 children in my State alone becoming regular, daily smokers each year. These new smokers become part of the 8.6 million individuals nationwide suffering from smoking-caused illnesses; they become part of the 400,000 deaths every year attributed to tobacco use. We can and must do more to curb the use of this very serious and deadly poison. This is a public health emergency that demands action.

Over the years, the tobacco industry has been confronted with opportunities to do the right thing--to be honest about the health effects of tobacco or even the intended targets of various marketing campaigns. In every instance they passed up that opportunity and actively fought to continue alluring generation after generation to use tobacco products.

I would like to use the time that I have today to walk through some of those occasions in an attempt to demonstrate how important the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act is to the American people, not only to our health, but to our economic prosperity.

In 1994, while I was in the House of Representatives, seven executives from the tobacco industry took an oath before a House committee that they would tell the truth about tobacco. In their statements and responses to questions from members on the committee, all seven individuals stated that they believed nicotine was not addictive, and that new marketing practices were not designed to reach younger and younger age groups, below the legal smoking age of 18.

In order to support these claims, the executives cited research councils and institutes. But these statements were contrary to what many public health officials were saying, and what I believed. This further obscured the notion that smoking was a direct cause of disease.

A total of 46 States--including my own--States in which the majority of my colleagues represent--then proceeded to call their bluff, one lawsuit at a time.

Through these cases, the American people learned that the lies and deceit of the tobacco industry extended far beyond that of a Congressional hearing room. The suits unearthed that the tobacco industry had established and funded the councils and institutes claiming tobacco was not a health hazard; and had internal documents stating that No. 1, nicotine is addictive; No. 2, smoking is a habit of addiction; and No. 3, that in order to continue to prosper, cigarettes must be marketed to younger and younger age groups--below the legal smoking age of 18.

The tobacco industry settled these lawsuits. The agreement, totaling nearly $206 billion, was ordered to be distributed to the States in an effort to recoup Medicaid dollars spent on smoking-related health care costs. While $206 billion seems like a lot to you and me, this amount of money only accounts for approximately 7 years of the Medicaid budgets of the 46 States.

The fact that the industry did settle should have been a clear sign that tobacco production and marketing needs to be regulated. Unfortunately, around the same time that the settlement occurred, the Supreme Court narrowly ruled--on a 5-to-4 margin--that the FDA did not have such authority to regulate their products. The tobacco industry continued to aggressively market tobacco products.

Nearly 10 years later, this past December, the Supreme Court upheld that tobacco firms could, in fact, be charged at the State level with deceptive advertising practices of cigarettes. We have on the one hand, no regulation; on the other hand, the possibility of State enforcement.

These two Supreme Court decisions further complicate the message received by Americans regarding the use, marketing and distribution of tobacco. In essence, the industry could be held liable for certain advertising practices, but direct, regulatory oversight of those practices does not exist. Appropriate guidelines do not exist. With this bill, we have the opportunity to ensure that guidelines are established.

To add yet another layer to this debate, only 2 weeks ago, the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the tobacco industry falsely advertised ``light'' and ``low-tar'' cigarettes under the guise that they were less dangerous than other products. This ruling comes after 10 years from the date the suit was originally filed--10 years too late to prevent 10,000 Rhode Island children beginning to regularly use tobacco. Had we enacted the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, or a similar version of this legislation, years ago, we could have prevented some of those in my State and across the country from ever smoking. Instead, the debate has dragged on for 10 years.

Unfortunately, this debate will continue to drag on. The tobacco industry has already publicly stated that it will continue to argue the decision that was recently rendered. Rather than taking the tortuous, time-consuming and very expensive path of taking the case through litigation, I think we have to give the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products.

We have the opportunity before us to put an end to the courtroom drama. With the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, we can give the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco, restrict illegal advertising practices targeting children, prevent the unlawful sale of tobacco to our Nation's youth, and strengthen warning labels.

With this legislation, everyone wins. The tobacco industry would have clear guidance on advertising practices which could help them avoid lengthy litigation; young people will not be targeted by aggressive tobacco media campaigns; and the public health crisis caused by tobacco use--which costs the American people in health care dollars, in lost productivity, and in loss of loved ones--tremendous prices--would hopefully begin to fade.

In preparation for our discussion, I looked back at some of the past statements that I have made in support of regulating tobacco--and one sticks out in my mind: the tobacco industry has worked hard to earn the trust of the American people.

We must try to win that trust back. We must empower the FDA to regulate tobacco in order to rein in the use of tobacco by children, control the access that our children have to tobacco, and warn the American public about its dangers.

The Senate is finally once again on the path to having a meaningful debate about our Nation's health care system. It is my hope that this debate will result in appropriate, high quality health care coverage and access for every American. Of course, we hope to do all of this at the lowest possible cost.

If we are serious about reforming our health care system, why wait? Smoking-related health care costs are skyrocketing. Today the average cost of a pack of cigarettes in the country is about $5 but the social cost is much more.

Every year, the public and private health care expenditures caused by smoking total approximately $100 billion, and $100 billion in lost productivity. These are staggering totals.

I will repeat: we literally cannot afford to wait another day for this legislation to be enacted.

We have the opportunity to begin charting a new course today. With this bill, we will begin to chip away at health care costs, steer our youth away from smoking, and pave the way for a healthier future for our Nation.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact this important piece of legislation and set forth on this new path for a healthier and more prosperous America.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

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