Congressional Support Grows for FDA Regulation of Tobacco: Bill Now Sponsored by 55 Senators, 200 Repre...( WASHINGTON D.C. - The following i...),Health

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The following is a statement of William V. Corr, Executive Director, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:

As the U.S. House Subcommittee on Health prepares to hold a hearing Wednesday on legislation to grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority over tobacco products, bipartisan support for this legislation continues to grow in Congress. The legislation (H.R. 1108, S. 625) now has the support of 55 sponsors in the Senate and 200 sponsors in the House. This bipartisan support from both political parties and both sides of the Capitol demonstrates that Congress has the votes to pass this legislation this year.

This legislation has the strong support of a broad coalition of public health, faith and other organizations, the American people, and leading scientific experts:

-- This legislation also 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)

-- 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).

-- Recent reports by the prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM), a unit

of the National Academy of Sciences, and the President's Cancer Panel

endorsed FDA regulation of tobacco as a critical element of a

comprehensive national strategy to eliminate tob
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