Washington
D.C. – Oregon’s
Senator Jeff Merkley joined President Obama today at the signing ceremony for
the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which allows the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tobacco products for the first
time. The legislation includes an amendment from Senator Merkley and
Senator Sherrod Brown (D – Ohio) that requires the new Tobacco Products
Scientific Advisory Committee to immediately study the public health effects of
tobacco candy and report to the FDA on its findings.
After the
signing ceremony, Merkley released the following statement:
“This
legislation is a major victory for the health of our children and the future of
our health care system. By bringing tobacco products under the purview of
the FDA, this law will ultimately save lives and reduce health care
costs.“Big
tobacco companies have realized that in order to keep raking in huge profits,
they need to hook a new generation on tobacco products. That’s why it’s so
important that Senator Sherrod Brown and I were able to include an amendment
that places new, dangerous tobacco candy products under close scrutiny.“Starting
today, the FDA will have real power to crack down on the marketing of tobacco
products to our kids. I will continue working to get dangerous tobacco
candy products off of store shelves and out of the hands of children.”
For more
information on the dangers of tobacco candy, please visit Senator Merkley’s website.
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