Family Smoking Prevention And Tobacco Control Act

Floor Speech

Ms. DELAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1256, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. This bipartisan legislation would grant the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) long-needed authority to regulate the manufacture, sale, distribution and marketing of tobacco products.

As we all know, tobacco related diseases contribute to the death of 400,000 Americans and costs the nation's health care system nearly $100 billion each year. The most tragic part of this statistic is that virtually all of these deaths are preventable. It is alarming that preventable diseases such as emphysema, heart disease and cancer all can be attributed to the use of tobacco. We must do everything we can to end preventable suffering and death due to tobacco use. And as we look towards significant, comprehensive health reform legislation, this bill is critically important to achieving our goal of a healthier nation.

The FDA has the scientific expertise and regulatory experience to understand complex tobacco products, stipulate changes and address how these changes interact with the marketing that impacts consumer behavior. The FDA is the best agency to regulate tobacco products because it is regularly engaged in evaluating the scientific and technical evidence related to the safety or lack thereof of consumer products, as well as examining issues related to access, marketing and claims made about these products.

Continuing to allow tobacco manufacturers to escape any sort of regulation when food, drug, device and other manufacturers are subject to oversight is unacceptable. Congress cannot leave tobacco products, the number one preventable cause of death, unregulated. Tobacco companies should not remain free to manipulate their products by secretly increasing nicotine levels or adding candy flavorings to entice children. We need to do what we can to reduce the harm of tobacco products and FDA is the only agency with the level of expertise required to take on this task.

Colleagues, we can all agree that the FDA faces significant challenges, is in desperate need of new, effective leadership and a commitment from this Congress to implement the necessary changes. H.R. 1256 is not in conflict with those changes. The legislation creates a new, separate center for tobacco product regulation within FDA and establishes user fees--paid for by the manufacturers and importers of the tobacco products regulated by FDA--to fully fund the agency's new work relating to tobacco products. None of the positions or funding for the new Center for Tobacco Regulation will be taken from existing FDA resources. I am pleased that the bill before us includes language that maintains the same role of the Appropriations Committee with regard to the fees in this bill that the Committee has with regard to other FDA user fees Providing the FDA with authority over tobacco products is completely consistent with FDA's core mission to protect the public health.

This bill has strong bipartisan support, and is endorsed by key groups including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the American Medical Association and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and more than 1000 other health, medical, consumer, community and faith groups.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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