AAFP and 33 other organizations have called on Congress to pass the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1376), a bill that would give authority to the FDA to regulate the manufacture, marketing and sale of tobacco products.
The organizations sent their plea to all U.S. representatives in an April 7 letter praising the legislation, which was introduced by Reps. Tom Davis, R-Va., and Henry Waxman, D-Calif.
H.R. 1376 would give the FDA authority to:
- require disclosure of tobacco products' content and changes to that content, such as reduction of harmful chemicals;
- require more and larger health warnings on tobacco products; and
- restrict advertising and promotion of tobacco products and halt illegal sales to children and adolescents.
According to the April 1 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the 2004 National Youth Tobacco Survey found 11.7 percent of middle-school students and 28 percent of high-school students reported using some type of tobacco product. Cigarettes were the product of choice, reportedly used by 8.1 percent of middle-school students and 22.3 percent of high-school students. More than 60 percent of middle-and high-school age youth could buy cigarettes, despite their age.
To read the text of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, visit Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet and type "H.R. 1376" in the box under "Search Bill Text 109th Congress (2005-2006)." Be sure to check the "Enter bill number" entry before you start the search.
