Smoking
Background
As awareness of the hazards of smoking have developed, tobacco has become a major concern of American people. But although the public has become aware of the deadly consequences of smoking, the number of smokers continues to rise, especially among young people. Today, at least 3.1 million adolescents smoke and 90 percent of new smokers are children and teenagers.
How deadly is smoking? Consider these statistics:
- As the leading preventable cause of death in the United States, tobacco is responsible for 1 out of every 5 deaths each year. Each year smoking claims more than 400,000 lives in the US.
Almost half of all smokers between the ages of 35 and 69 die prematurely. Smokers could be losing an average of 20 to 25 years of their life.
Nonsmokers exposed to smoke are also at an increased risk for lung cancer. A nonsmoker married to a smoker has a 30% greater risk of developing lung cancer than the spouse of a nonsmoker.
Legislative Summary: Tobacco and the Food and Drug Administration
On March 21, 2000, the United States Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have authority to regulate tobacco products. The Court's ruling means only that the necessary legislation is not in place to grant the FDA the authority it needs to regulate tobacco. Investing the FDA with control over tobacco products is the crucial first step in turning the tide of smoking-related death. By regulating the content of tobacco products, restricting youth access to tobacco, and restricting tobacco marketing practices, the federal government will begin to address the conduct of the largely under-regulated tobacco industry.
Once granted authority over tobacco, the FDA would resume implementation of its Tobacco Rule, a comprehensive system for restricting youths' access to tobacco products. The Rule established 18 as the national minimum age for purchasing cigarettes and smokeless tobacco and required retailers to verify the age of customers who appear younger than 27. Prior to the Supreme Court's ruling, the FDA had contracted with 41 states and two territories to check the compliance of tobacco retailers. Thirty states had these compliance programs up and running and more than 75,000 compliance checks had been completed.
Prior to the FDA Rule, minors had easy access to tobacco products. An analysis of 13 different studies of over-the-counter sales of tobacco found that, on average, children and adolescents were successful in buying tobacco products 67 percent of the time. Without the Rule, retailers can sell to minors, largely unchecked.
Establishing federal jurisdiction over tobacco would also allow the government to:
- regulate the content of tobacco products, making them healthier for smokers and safer for those exposed to secondary smoke;
- create an enforceable mechanism requiring tobacco companies to disclose the contents of their products;
- institute a nationwide, enforceable system for restricting youths' access to tobacco; and
- institute marketing guidelines to restrict tobacco advertisement that greatly influences children.
H.R. 4042, introduced on March 21, 2000 by Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), would authorize the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tobacco products as a drug or device. By re-enacting the 1996 FDA tobacco regulations and making them the law, a restriction on the sale of tobacco products to youths, a requirement of retailers to ask for identification from anyone purchasing tobacco products who appeared to be under age 27 and a ban cigarette vending machines from any venue that was not deemed "adult-only" would occur.
Additionally, H.R. 4042 would strengthen advertising requirements on tobacco products 18 months after its enactment. It would ban tobacco advertisements in all electronic communications. The bill would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue a ruling about what may be considered to be the ingredients of tobacco. It would make it unlawful for any tobacco vendor to advertise or imply that their product poses less of a health risk than other tobacco products unless the department specifically permits such advertisements. Finally, states would be encouraged to set up plans to reduce tobacco use and would not receive funds under the measure if they failed to do so. This part of the bill would take effect two years after the bill's enactment.
Take Action
Let your member of Congress know that you demand substantial protection for the health of Americans, especially children, from the dangers of smoking. Urge your member of Congress to support H.R. 4042, a bill granting the FDA jurisdiction over tobacco products — allowing them to implement programs preventing underage smoking and to regulate the contents of tobacco products.
Contact your member of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Some Congressional offices also have a public fax number available at your request. Although electronic mail is most effective when used in conjunction with a phone call or fax, you can use our online Legislative Action Center to email your Congressman by entering your ZIP code and customizing the sample letter we provide.
Position of the Reform Jewish Movement
Judaism's value of life and health make smoking a habit to avoid. Maimonides' Mishneh Torah contains a list of activities to be avoided for health reasons (Deot, Ch. 4). The introduction states, "Seeing that keeping the body healthy and whole is the way of God, for it is impossible to understand or know anything about the Creator if one is sick, therefore a person must distance himself from things that destroy the body and accustom himself to things which heal the body." Smoking is an activity "which destroys the body" and is therefore forbidden under the teaching of Maimonides.
Both the Union for Reform Judaism and the Central Conference of American Rabbis have identified smoking as a leading preventable cause of death and have promoted the reduction of smoking and its effects. In a 1987 resolution in smoking, the URJ banned smoking in its buildings and at its functions, resolved to discourage smoking among youth through educational programming, and urged the United States to phase out subsidies to the tobacco industry. The Central Conference of American Rabbis resolved in 1995 to "take all steps possible in our congregations, schools, and organizations to deter the use of tobacco by our children" and "support the FDA's efforts to reduce tobacco advertising to youth and decrease tobacco use by children."
More Information
To learn more, contact RAC Legislative Assistant Rebecca Katz or visit the following websites:
Last Updated May 25, 2000
