WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) welcomed key progress on legislation that will help reduce the use of deadly and addictive tobacco products, particularly among children and young people.  The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1108) provides the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the authority to regulate tobacco products and provides the agency with additional resources to carry out these new regulatory responsibilities.  This new authority will enable the FDA to provide adult smokers with the information necessary to fully assess the dangers of tobacco use, restrict young people’s access to tobacco products, and responsibly restrict tobacco advertising and marketing – particularly advertising and marketing targeting young people. 

“Tobacco is a highly addictive, deadly product and it is time the Food and Drug Administration had the authority to regulate it like the drugs that it is,” said Capps, a registered nurse and member of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health.  “I have long been concerned about tobacco companies’ efforts to entice children and young people to smoke or use other tobacco products.  Irresponsible advertising and marketing practices, like those RJ Reynolds use to promote Camel No. 9 cigarettes, need to be stopped.  This bill will crack down on these misleading advertisements and unscrupulous product giveaways and help protect our young people from an addiction to a deadly drug.” 

In hearings on the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act last fall, Capps highlighted the misleading marketing and advertising practices employed by RJ Reynolds to promote their Camel No. 9 cigarettes.  These practices underscored the need for FDA regulation of tobacco products. 

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1108) enjoys strong support from both public health groups and industry alike including: Philip Morris, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, Bailey’s Cigarettes, North Atlantic Trading Company, Inc., Prime Time International Company, National Association of Convenience Stores, American Lung Association, American Heart Association, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Cancer Action Network, Faith United Against Tobacco.

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Pictured above: (center) Congresswoman Capps meets with Central Coast firefighters to discuss emergency preparedness.