Senator Lautenberg on FDA Tobacco Law

Will Improve Health, Protect Children; Long-Time Senate Leader on Anti-Tobacco Efforts Hails President Obama's Signing Legislation into Law

June 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – President Obama today signed into law legislation Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) cosponsored to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate the sale and distribution of tobacco products, and prevent cigarette makers from targeting children in their advertising and marketing and making false claims to the public.

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The New Jersey Senator is a longtime Senate leader in the fight against Big Tobacco.

“Our children and our country’s health scored a major victory today,” Sen. Lautenberg said. “The message from President Obama and this Congress is clear: Big Tobacco and their powerful lobbyists can no longer hide the real dangers of tobacco and target our kids as the next generation of smokers. This new law was decades in the making, and at last our efforts have paid off.”

LAUTENBERG TOBACCO RECORD

* In 1987, Sen. Lautenberg and then-Rep. Dick Durbin won passage of an amendment banning smoking on airline flights of two hours or less.

* In 1989, Sen. Lautenberg won passage of an amendment banning smoking on airline flights of six hours or less. This covers approximately 99 percent of all domestic flights. Both of the airline smoking bans were adopted despite stiff opposition by the tobacco lobby. One amendment was filibustered and the Senate had to invoke cloture (more than 60 votes).

* In 1994, Sen. Lautenberg won passage of legislation to make all buildings that house Federally-funded children’s programs smoke-free. This includes all public schools, Federally-funded day care centers and WIC programs. This finally became law after passing the Senate three times.

* In 1997, Sen. Lautenberg introduced bipartisan legislation to require that tobacco companies disclose the ingredients and carcinogens in their products to the public and affix larger warning labels with more direct messages to kids.

* In 1999, Sen. Lautenberg released Philip Morris documents showing that the company knew that Marlboro smokers who switched to Marlboro Light cigarettes actually inhaled more tar than they did smoking the Marlboros. This expose shined a light on the deceptive marketing of “Light” cigarettes.

* Sens. Lautenberg and Durbin successfully pushed for a complete indoor smoking ban (2008) and a ban on cigarette sales (2007) in all Senate office buildings.

* In November 2007, Sen. Lautenberg chaired a Senate Commerce Committee hearing exposing the inaccuracy of the FTC tar and nicotine cigarette rating system, and the marketing claims tobacco companies use based on these ratings. After years of pressure from Sen. Lautenberg, the FTC announced last November that tobacco companies are no longer allowed to use the outdated “FTC Method” of testing tar and nicotine levels as the basis for marketing claims of ‘Light’ and ‘Low-Tar’ cigarettes.

Source: Senator Frank R. Lautenberg