Even though tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, currently no government agency oversees the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products. All other products — food, drugs, cosmetics and even sunscreen — are regulated by the FDA.
A lifetime of addiction nearly always starts in teenage years. Nearly 90 percent of adult smokers began smoking as teens, so any attempt to limit the national epidemic of tobacco addiction must begin with eliminating the marketing and manufacturing of these products to target children.
A new report released last month by leading public health organizations shows the extent to which tobacco manufacturers take advantage of the lack of regulation over its industry to entice new users. The report shows how the tobacco industry attracts children by adding candy flavorings like strawberry, banana and grape to their products.
They also know that smoking is unpleasant for new smokers, so they carefully design the product to make it less harsh by adding sugars and chemicals that numb the throat. They even address how the cigarette should be designed so that the novice smoker can light it more easily.
Congress has a historic opportunity to stop the special protection of Big Tobacco and protect Colorado’s kids by passing bipartisan legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration authority over tobacco products and their marketing. While the bill would help protect all Americans, it includes specific provisions to protect our children from this deadly addiction.
The bill’s strong restrictions on advertising and marketing of tobacco products to children strike at the very heart of the tobacco industry’s business model, which depends on hooking children to replace smokers who die. The legislation includes provisions designed to keep tobacco out of the hands of children, prohibit candy flavorings in products, and require larger, more effective warning labels.
To prevent and reduce the illegal sale of tobacco products to children, the legislation simply requires retailers to check the ID of any young person trying to purchase tobacco products. Similar legislation is pending at the state level. Senate Bill 88, sponsored by Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder, passed nearly unanimously on the Senate floor recently.
Colorado is recognized as a leader on tobacco issues. It is just one of three states nationwide that met the funding recommendations for effective tobacco-control programs by the Centers for Disease Control. Our legislators ensured that the tobacco tax money, voted on and outlined in Amendment 35, is spent as voters intended: on tobacco control programs, health care and improved cessation services.
Additionally, our legislators voted to ensure nearly all workers are protected from secondhand smoke by passing a comprehensive, smoke-free air law that now includes casinos.
We are beginning to see the benefits of this investment in health-care savings, lives saved, and a declining number of smokers.
Sen. Ken Salazar and Reps. Diana DeGette and Mark Udall have signed on as co-sponsors of this life-saving legislation. We urge the other members of Colorado’s delegation to join them.
Jodi L. Radke (jradke@ tobaccofreekids.org) is director of the Rocky Mountain/Great Plains Region, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
