To better understand the need for this new law, consider these facts. Nationwide studies show that each day, 1,000 young people under the age of 18 become regular smokers. Despite extraordinary anti-smoking efforts in our state, more than sixteen percent of high school students smoke, according to the Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine. Sadly, seven percent of students in middle school also admit to being smokers, and nearly 45,000 children under age 18 in Maine live in a home with a smoker and are exposed to the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke.
It's difficult to believe that, until now, no federal authority has had true oversight of cigarettes, a product that contributes to the deaths of more than 400,000 people each year, causes one-third of all cancer deaths, 90 percent of lung cancer deaths, 20 percent of all heart disease deaths, and is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.
No federal agency required tobacco companies to disclose that some of their products contain trace amounts hazardous materials, such as arsenic, formaldehyde, and ammonia. No federal agency reviewed tobacco companies' claims that "light" and "low tar" cigarettes are safer than other tobacco products. No federal agency had the authority to inspect how tobacco products are made and whether the manufacturers' machines and equipment are sanitary.
Amazingly, the FDA requires Philip Morris to print the ingredients in its Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, but not the ingredients in its cigarettes. The FDA requires printed ingredients for chewing gum, lipstick, and bottled water, but not for tobacco products. The FDA requires certain standards be met before food products can be labeled "fat-free" or "light," but cigarette companies do not have to reveal any information about so-called "reduced risk" products that are labeled "light" or "mild." That simply does not make sense.
That is why I am pleased that Congress has given final approval to a bill that would help curb youth smoking and allow people to make more informed decisions about tobacco, by giving the FDA the legal authority to regulate the sales, marketing, and manufacturing of tobacco products. We simply must have federal oversight over this potentially deadly product, which has gone unregulated for far too long. The government must have the tools to protect our children from the dangers of cigarettes and other tobacco products.
The "Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act" gives the FDA the ability to publish the ingredients of tobacco products and revise the health warnings on both cigarette and smokeless tobacco products. All tobacco products entering the market would be subjected to an FDA process.
This new law will require tobacco manufacturers to disclose a listing of all ingredients, substances, and compounds added to the tobacco, paper or filter. It requires a description of the content, delivery, and form of nicotine in each tobacco product. It also requires information on the health, behavioral, or psychological effects of the tobacco products.
Tobacco manufacturers will be required to submit health information to the FDA about "reduced-risk" products, before they can be marketed as such. The FDA, not the tobacco companies, will have the authority to determine which products are truly reduced-risk. The legislation requires stronger, more explicit warning labels and would grant the FDA the authority to change labels periodically to ensure the warning remains effective.
The law will allow the FDA to restrict advertising and promotion of tobacco products, including advertising that affects children or misleads consumers, to the extent permitted under the First Amendment. The FDA will have the ability to stop tobacco advertising that glamorizes smoking from appearing in places where it would be seen by significant numbers of children. In addition, it bans the use of flavors such as strawberry, grape, orange, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, coffee, and others that would attract children to the product. The FDA can also take action to ensure that tobacco products are not illegally sold to children.
Given the addictiveness of tobacco products, it is essential that the FDA regulate them for the protection of public health, and particularly our children. Under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, for the first time ever, the FDA will be able to review the health risks associated with tobacco products, regulate tobacco products and tobacco marketing, and have the full legal authority to do the job effectively. This law will provide a powerful tool to help add to the success that Maine has had in recent years in reducing the number of young smokers. I am hopeful that it will help protect all of us from the harmful consequences of tobacco.