Smoking

June 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC -- Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement praising the signing of H.R. 1256, legislation to empower the FDA to regulate tobacco products:

“Today is a day for special celebration as President Obama signs into law this long-overdue authority for FDA to regulate tobacco products. Decade after decade, Big Tobacco has seduced millions of teenagers into lifetimes of addiction and premature death. Enactment of this legislation will finally put a stop to that. It is truly a life-saving act, and a welcome demonstration that this Congress is capable of enacting major health reform.”

Source: Senator Edward M. Kennedy

Legislation Will Protect Children and Families from Targeted Advertising and Harms for Smoking

June 22, 2009 -- Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and Chairman Edward Kennedy’s chief deputy for health care reform, joined President Obama today as he signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act into law. Dodd introduced the bill with Chairman Edward Kennedy and shepherded it through committee consideration and debate on the Senate floor.

* For photos from the signing, please click here.    » read more »

Law Includes Brown's Amendment on Smokeless 'Tobacco Candy' Products

June 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today attended the White House bill signing ceremony of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The legislation includes an amendment authored by Brown and Sen. Jeff Merkley that will protect consumers from smokeless ‘tobacco candy’ products. In response to today’s bill signing, Brown issued the following statement:    » read more »

June 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today joined President Barack Obama at a White House signing ceremony of legislation empowering the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tobacco products. Bingaman is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which helped write the bill.

Among other things, the bipartisan legislation would give the FDA authority to make tobacco products less toxic for those who continue to use them and prevent the tobacco industry from misleading the public about the dangers of smoking. The measure also would help smokers overcome their addiction.    » read more »

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.    » read more »

American Lung Association Calls Upon President Obama to Protect Entire Federal Workforce

6/19/2009 -- Statement of Charles D. Connor, American Lung Association President and CEO:

Starting today, a federal smokefree workplace policy takes affect that will protect thousands of workers from the dangers posed by secondhand smoke. The American Lung Association applauds the Government Services Administration (GSA) for issuing this strong policy to ensure a safe and healthy work environment and urges them to ensure smokers have access to get the help they need to quit.    » read more »

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.    » read more »

Schumer Pushes Legislation To Prevent Tobacco Companies From Targeting Young Smokers And Require Stringent Warnings On The Dangers Of Cigarettes

June 3, 2009 -- U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealed that, due in part to tobacco ads targeted at minors, 79,800 children from New York State will have their first cigarette this year and 23,900 of them will become regular smokers. In order to combat the problem, Senator Schumer announced that he is pushing legislation, introduced by Senator Ted Kennedy, which has been 15 years in the making, to prevent tobacco companies from targeting underage smokers with advertisements and products.    » read more »

June 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC -- In an effort to curb smoking, improve public health, and save billions of taxpayer dollars each year, the U.S. Senate is currently debating the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, legislation long supported by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products and prohibit misleading tobacco advertisements.    » read more »

June 3, 2009 -- Washington – In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln urged her colleagues to support legislation that will implement much-needed marketing restrictions on tobacco companies that target children.    » read more »

June 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC — Democratic Senators Frank Lautenberg, Dick Durbin, Chris Dodd and Jack Reed joined Matt Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, at a press conference this morning to discuss the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The legislation will give the Food and Drug Administration legal authority to regulate the sale, distribution and advertising of cigarettes in order to stop tobacco companies from targeting children and misleading the public.    » read more »

Holds Press Conference to Discuss the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act

June 3, 2009 -- Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and Chairman Edward Kennedy’s chief deputy for health care reform, held a press conference today with Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Jack Reed (D-RI) to discuss the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. Dodd was also joined by Matt Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.    » read more »

Unveils various initiatives across all sites to encourage smoking cessation

Mumbai, India - May 28, 2009 -- As part of its Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S) initiatives and global commitment to support employee health, Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd. (Dow India), announced active support to employees in their effort to quit use of tobacco in recognition of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, 2009. This effort is part of the Dow India vision to make Dow workplaces, as well as its employees, tobacco free.    » read more »

Washington, D.C. (May 28, 2009)—The American Lung Association joins the World Health Organization (WHO) in calling attention to the global epidemic of death and disease caused by tobacco use on World No Tobacco Day taking place on Sunday, May 31, 2009.

This year, World No Tobacco Day will focus on the urgent need for graphic health warnings to be placed on all tobacco products in order to reduce the deadly impact tobacco use has on the global community. According to the WHO, tobacco use kills 5.4 million people every year and accounts for one in 10 adult deaths worldwide. In the United States, the tobacco caused death toll ends more than 393,000 lives each year. Another 50,000 American deaths are annually attributed to secondhand smoke exposure.    » read more »

May 20, 2009 -- Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, praised the Committee’s passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. Dodd chaired the mark-up of the legislation over the last two days. The bill passed out of the Committee by a vote of 15 to 8.

“For far too long the tobacco companies have been targeting our children. This bill will put an end to that. It represents an historic and long overdue victory for our nation’s children. This Congress has a moral obligation to act and the moment is now.”    » read more »