The following podcast was recorded May 5, 2008

Hello, I’m Congressman John Dingell. Welcome to my podcast.

On April 2, 2008, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which I chair, passed H.R. 1108, the “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.”  This important legislation addresses our longstanding concern with tobacco use, especially by our Nation’s youth.

Cigarette smoking, which is responsible for approximately 1 in 5 deaths is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. In addition to the 45 million adult smokers in the United States, it is estimated that more than eleven hundred young people become addicted every day.  Annually, cigarette smoking in the U.S. carries a hefty price tag of more than $167 billion, based on lost productivity and healthcare expenditures.

H.R. 1108 grants the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco. And new resources are provided for FDA to meet this new responsibility. The funding is derived through fees paid by tobacco companies. The FDA, for the first time, will have the authority to limit youth access to tobacco products. The agency will also have to evaluate whether adult smokers have the information needed to assess the real risks of tobacco use in order to make informed decisions.   And FDA will be responsible for establishing appropriate restrictions on the advertising and marketing of tobacco products -- especially with regards to young people.

This bill contains many other important provisions.  It mandates changes to cigarette and smokeless tobacco warning labels. It prohibits cigarettes from containing any flavor other than tobacco or menthol.  Flavors that may be appealing to young people, like strawberry or cinnamon, will be banned.  Finally, this legislation would require premarket approval of all new tobacco products based on defined product standards, a much-needed control.

I am immensely proud that, because of the hard work and the cooperation of the Members of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, our country will take a giant step forward in protecting the lives of Americans, particularly our youth, from the harmful effects of tobacco.

This is John Dingell. Thank you for listening.