Senator Mark Udall Urges Support for Bill to Prevent Youth Smoking, Reduce Smoking-Related Health Care Costs

June 4, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mark Udall urged his colleagues to support bipartisan legislation designed to reduce the number of kids who get hooked on smoking, help smokers overcome their addiction, and make tobacco products less toxic.

In a speech submitted for the Congressional Record, Udall said that by preventing new smokers from becoming addicted, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act being debated in the Senate this week would help lower health care costs and promote wellness – two of the biggest hurdles facing the American health care system today.

Udall – a parent of two college-aged children – said he was particularly struck by the fact that 90 percent of current adult smokers were addicted by the age of 18. In fact, Udall added, it’s estimated that if nothing more is done to prevent kids from getting addicted to cigarettes, 92,000 Colorado kids today could ultimately die of smoking – and much of the cost for their care will be borne in part by the rest of society in the form of increased taxes and health care costs. Coloradans currently pay taxes to cover over $1 billion per year in smoking and tobacco-driven costs – nearly $600 per Colorado household.

“In order to maintain its bottom line, big tobacco isn’t finding new customers in our age range,” Udall said in his speech. “The only way for them to continue making big profits is to target what they have, in the past, deemed ‘their base’ – our children. As a father, it terrifies me to know that tobacco companies view our children as ‘replacement smokers.’”

To illustrate his point, Udall told the story of David Hughes, a musician, outdoorsman and cave explorer, father, husband – and a smoker – who developed throat cancer in 2002. Hughes, of the Loveland area, started smoking as a teenager, but quit cigarettes when he was diagnosed. After 70 radiation treatments, chemotherapy and successful surgery, he thought he had kicked cancer. But the cancer returned to his lungs in 2006, and he passed away last year.

“I hope getting this bill signed into law will help, if even in just a small way, give (Hughes’ family) the energy to continue their adventure and give them the peace of mind of knowing that their father and husband’s powerful advocacy on behalf of this cause will help prevent other families from experiencing similar heartache and loss,” Udall said in his remarks. “David’s story underscores the importance of this legislation to real people and the effect it can have on real lives.… The time to act on this bill is now.”

Udall is an original co-sponsor of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The bill would: • Allow the FDA to restrict tobacco advertising, especially to children; • Prevent sales to youth; • Improve and strengthen warning labels on products; • Prevent misleading marketing and misrepresentation; and • Regulate and remove many of the hazardous chemicals and ingredients used to make tobacco products more addictive – and many times more deadly.

The following are Senator Udall’s full remarks as submitted for the Congressional Record:

Mr. President, I’m here to add my voice to the strong bipartisan support for the bill before us today. I also want to thank Senator Ted Kennedy for his tireless effort to shepherd its success. While this legislation is long overdue, I think it is especially timely and appropriate that we have the opportunity to see it signed into law in the midst of a historic health reform debate.

Mr. President, we have known for some time that one of the biggest obstacles we face in reforming our broken health care system is the nearly exponential rise in health care costs. An enormous contributor to these costs is the price tag for treating chronic disease and preventable illness, particularly the pulmonary disorders and throat and lung cancer that come with smoking.

What better way to help lower health care costs and promote wellness and prevention than by going after the number one cause of preventable death and disease in this country? Coloradans currently pay taxes to cover over one billion dollars per year in smoking and tobacco-driven costs. That’s nearly six hundred dollars per Colorado household.

As we’re struggling to find ways to pay for a revamped health care system that provides quality care to everyone who needs it, let’s have part of that pay-for be this bill by preventing millions American children and teens from becoming addicted to a product that’s really a one-way-ticket to disease, cancer, and many times death.

Mr. President, while I have been disturbed by so many of the sobering facts, figures, and statistics we’ve heard throughout this debate, there is one in particular that I think really drives home the underlying issue here: 90 percent of current adult smokers were addicted by the age of 18.

That means that, in order to maintain its bottom line, big tobacco isn’t finding new customers in our age range, Mr. President. The only way for them to continue making big profits is to target what they have, in the past, deemed “their base”: our children. As a father, it terrifies me to know that tobacco companies view our children as “replacement smokers.”

As tobacco companies continue to find more creative ways to get kids to join their customer base through deceptive marketing and other tactics, parents must continue to educate their children about the dangers of smoking. But we can give them a helping hand by ensuring that youth magazines aren’t full of colorful ads tailored specifically to make them the new generation of smokers – tailored to encourage addiction. We can help them by ensuring that the convenience store across the street from their kids’ high school doesn’t have an advertised “back-to-school” special on newly introduced fruit-flavored tobacco products, displayed prominently next to their shelves of gum and candy products.

Mr. President, as we’ve heard from my colleagues who have spoken before me, practices like these have been documented, and they are horribly unacceptable.

In addition to many important tools this legislation would give to the FDA to protect children and consumers, this bill will allow the agency to restrict tobacco advertising, especially to children; prevent sales to youth; improve and strengthen warning labels on products; prevent misleading marketing and misrepresentation; regulate and remove many of the hazardous chemicals and ingredients used to make tobacco products more addictive – and many times more deadly.

Because this bill is, at its root, about people, I’d like to share the story of a Coloradan who knew firsthand the effects of cigarette smoke and spent many years fighting to keep kids safe.

First diagnosed with throat cancer in 2002, David Hughes was a musician, Colorado outdoorsman and cave explorer, father, and husband. Having begun his smoking habit as a teenager, he quit cigarettes upon diagnosis and bravely endured 70 radiation treatments, chemotherapy and successful surgery. Feeling as if he had a new lease on life, David went back to school and started a woodworking business, spent even more time with his wife Kathy and son Nathan, and volunteered with the Loveland Alliance on Smoking and Health to fight for smoke-free air for his family and community. He worked especially hard to keep cigarettes out of the hands of children, knowing firsthand the life-long addiction that can come from being exposed to tobacco early-on.

Unfortunately, four years later, the cancer returned – this time to his lungs – eventually taking his life on June 4, 2008, but not without a spirited fight fueled by an infectiously positive attitude and love for his family and friends.

Mr. President, David’s wife Kathy has called 2009 her and Nathan’s year of “adventurous recovery.” I hope getting this bill signed into law will help, if even in just a small way, give them the energy to continue their adventure and give them the peace of mind of knowing that their father and husband’s powerful advocacy on behalf of this cause will help prevent other families from experiencing similar heartache and loss.

David’s story underscores the importance of this legislation to real people and the effect it can have on real lives.

Mr. President, the time to act on this bill is now. The idea for the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act has been around for over a decade, and the provisions contained in this version have been debated and polished by countless capable policy-makers. The FDA is the only agency that combines the scientific know-how and regulatory authority to get the job done. This bill is fiscally responsible and fully paid for through user fees to tobacco companies.

Mr. President, given the current rate of tobacco use, it is estimated that 92,000 Colorado kids alive in my home state today could ultimately die of smoking. While the long-term goal is to shrink this figure to zero, let’s pass this legislation this week and put a significant dent in such an overwhelming and unacceptable number.

Source: Senator Mark Udall