Washington Governor On Federal Tobacco Legislation

June 22, 2009 -- OLYMPIA – Washington Governor Chris Gregoire released the following statement on the signing by President Obama of legislation that gives the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products:

“Curbing tobacco use among children and adults has been one of the driving forces of my career, going back to my days as state attorney general. I couldn’t be more pleased that President Obama signed legislation today that gives the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products. Given that tobacco use kills an estimated 400,000 Americans and costs the nation roughly $96 billion in health care bills each year, it is critically important that the FDA regulates tobacco in the same way it regulates nearly every other product we consume.

“I am very proud of the work we’ve done in Washington to decrease tobacco use. Today, Washington has the fifth-lowest smoking rate in the nation, and youth smoking has declined by half since 1999. I have been and remain committed to working to further cut our smoking rate in Washington, and am happy our president is equally resolved to curtail the use of tobacco.”

Source: Washington Governor