WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today urged his Senate colleagues to pass the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which would allow the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products. Below is Udall's statement from the Senate floor. Click here to see video of Udall's speech.
"Madam President, I rise today to support the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. I want to start by thanking Senator Kennedy and all of those who have fought for legislation like this over the years.
"Watching this debate, I can't help but think of the movie Groundhog Day. In that movie, Bill Murray has to live the same day over and over again. Like him, I have been here before. We have all been here before.
"The FDA first attempted to regulate tobacco products in August 1996-almost 13 years ago. In 2000, a narrow majority on the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had not given the FDA authority to regulate tobacco. But even as the Court struck down the FDA rules, it noted that tobacco is ‘one of the most troubling public health problems facing our Nation today.'
"Immediately after that decision, this body considered legislation to provide the needed authority. That legislation was introduced by the Senator from Rhode Island and my senior Senator from New Mexico. They argued that FDA regulation of tobacco was ‘long overdue.' They pointed out that every day we delayed, more kids would start smoking-and more citizens would face disease and death.
"That was almost a decade ago.
"Since the FDA first tried to regulate tobacco, more than 20.6 million American kids have smoked their first cigarette-and more than 2.6 million of these kids will die because they did. Almost $1 trillion has been spent on the health costs associated with smoking. And 4.6 million Americans have lost their lives to cigarettes since the FDA rules.
"We do not know how many young people would not be addicted today if these companies had been prevented from advertising their products to our children. We do not know how many cases of lung cancer and heart disease could have been prevented if tobacco companies had not boosted nicotine levels and marketed ‘Light' cigarettes as if these cigarettes weren't killers.
"We don't know how many lives were lost while Congress failed to act. But we do know that number is too high. Much too high.
"I first became involved with this issue when I was New Mexico's Attorney General. In May of 1997, we joined a lawsuit that would eventually involve 46 states and six territories.
"In some ways, this lawsuit was just like any other. My client, the state of New Mexico, had lost thousands of lives and billions of dollars because of the defendant. Our suit simply demanded restitution and damages.
"But on a broader level, the tobacco cases were unprecedented. We were responding to a threat that impacts every American. The suit began in Mississippi, and it spread to almost every state-regardless of politics or geography. We were addressing a national problem, because the Congress had failed to act.
"In 1998, we negotiated a Master Settlement Agreement that was an important step forward. But we knew that there was more to be done.
"Some have claimed that the Settlement makes FDA regulation of the tobacco industry unnecessary. As somebody who helped negotiate that agreement, let me tell you that nothing could be further from the truth.
"The Settlement was not intended as a substitute for adequate federal regulation. In fact, the Agreement originally called for FDA regulation as an integral part of efforts to protect the public. And the National Association of Attorneys General recently filed an amicus brief saying that the Settlement has not stopped tobacco companies from marketing to kids.
"In fact, tobacco company memos demonstrate that their business depends on recruiting what they call ‘replacement smokers.' Companies used to strategize about how to attract customers as young as thirteen. And evidence suggests that this strategy has not changed. Even after the 1998 Settlement Agreement, one tobacco company noted that ‘[m]arket renewal is almost entirely from 18 year old smokers.' They don't say that they are targeting minors. That would be illegal. But somebody's going to have to explain to me how you can focus your business model on 18-year-olds without marketing to 17-year-olds.
"When I came to Congress after my service as an AG, I strongly supported FDA regulation of tobacco. I knew then that the Settlement did not provide the kind of flexibility needed to effectively control tobacco industry actions.
"And since the Settlement was signed, the tobacco companies have shown us that they will evade it at every opportunity.
"On May 22, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a 2006 ruling that found tobacco companies guilty of racketeering and fraud. The original ruling contains 13 hundred pages describing tobacco company efforts to endanger the public health and to cover up their activities. Many of these actions were taken after the Settlement Agreement.
"The court found that the tobacco companies ‘began to evade and at times even violate the [Settlement Agreement]'s prohibitions almost immediately after signing the agreement.' After disbanding a research program according to the terms of the Agreement, the companies initiated a new research program with the same office-the same board-even the same phone numbers.
"So, given the obvious dangers of tobacco products and the behavior of tobacco company executives over the years, why isn't this product already regulated by the FDA?
"This question was answered implicitly by the Supreme Court in 2000, and the answer is instructive. The Court found that tobacco-unlike other FDA-regulated drugs-has no health benefits. In other words, tobacco is too unhealthy to be regulated.
"Whatever you think of that ruling, it poses a serious question-should an Agency that regulates Tylenol be unable to regulate a substance that kills 440,000 Americans every year-more than-and think about this for a moment-alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides combined. Is it really possible that one of the world's most deadly addictive substances should be immune from the rules that govern almost every other addictive substance that can be legally sold in this country?
"Some of those who have spoken on this bill have pointed out that the FDA cannot solve the most significant problem with tobacco-that when used as directed, it kills the user. But the FDA can stop tobacco companies from adding ingredients that make their products more addictive and more deadly. It can stop them from lying to consumers about the health impact of their products. And it can stop them from marketing to our children. In fact, the FDA is particularly qualified to do these things.
"Madam President,
"As I was preparing to come to the floor today, I got an email from one of my constituents in Hobbs, New Mexico-and she reminded me why this bill is so important. She had received an email from a tobacco company. The company thought she was one of their customers, and they asked her to send me a form email opposing this legislation. She forwarded their email. And at the beginning of the email she wrote:
"'They strongly urged me to copy the following message to you and to vote against it. What they don't know is I DON'T SMOKE. But my 12 and 7 year olds do because they have to go visit their dad who smokes around them. Not only do they get a lot of second hand smoke but my oldest one idolizes her dad and will probably end up smoking because of him. So, by all means-pass the bill.'
"Congress has waited too long to protect this woman and her children. It is time to get this done.
"In Groundhog Day, Bill Murray wakes up to a different day when he finally does the right thing. I'm hoping we all wake up after this vote to a new day-a day when our citizens have the health protections they should expect from their government.
"I ask you to join me in supporting this commonsense legislation-and, Madam President, I yield the floor."
