[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 131 (Monday, August 7, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11790-S11791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               SENATE RESOLUTION 159--RELATIVE TO TOBACCO

  Mr. BRADLEY (for himself, Mr. Hatfield, Mrs. Boxer, Mrs. Feinstein, 
Mr. Kohl, Mr. Lautenberg, Ms. Moseley-Braun, Mr. Moynihan, Mr. Simon, 
Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Simpson) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Finance:

                              S. Res. 159

       Whereas more than 3,000,000 American children and teenagers 
     smoke cigarettes, and every 30 seconds a child in the United 
     States smokes for the first time;
       Whereas about 90 percent of new smokers start smoking when 
     they are age 18 or younger;
       Whereas longitudinal research has indicated that tobacco 
     use among children and teenagers has risen dramatically over 
     the last 4 years;
       Whereas tobacco causes heart disease, strokes, lung cancer, 
     throat cancer, emphysema, and numerous other diseases, and 
     kills one out of every three long-term users;
       Whereas tobacco causes the premature death of well over 
     400,000 Americans every year--more than alcohol, heroin, 
     crack, automobile and airplane accidents, homicides, 
     suicides, and AIDS combined;
       Whereas numerous researchers have concluded that children's 
     and teenagers' use of tobacco decreases significantly when 
     the price of tobacco increases;
       Whereas one study has recently concluded that a small 
     increase in the excise tax on cigarettes would save thousands 
     of lives each year;
       Whereas the American Medical Association has recommended 
     that excise taxes on tobacco products should be dramatically 
     increased to help deter young people from becoming addicted; 
     and
       Whereas the American Cancer Society has stated that raising 
     tobacco taxes is one of the most effective ways to rapidly 
     and significantly reduce tobacco use by young people: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) tobacco use among children and teenagers has been shown 
     to lead to addiction, disease, and premature death;
       (2) raising the Federal excise tax on tobacco products will 
     prevent hundreds of thousands of American children and 
     teenagers from smoking;
       (3) the Federal excise tax on tobacco products should be 
     increased in order to protect the health of children and 
     teenagers; and
       (4) revenues raised by increasing the excise tax on tobacco 
     products should be used in part to help finance Federal 
     health programs.

  Mr. BRADLEY. Mr. President, I rise today to submit a sense-of-the-
Senate resolution that addresses a severe and growing public health 
crisis--the large, and increasing, number of children and teenagers who 
are using cigarettes and other tobacco products. The sense-of-the-
Senate makes three simple points: First, the tobacco use among children 
and teenagers has been shown to lead to addiction, disease, and 
premature death. Second, it States that raising the Federal excise tax 
on tobacco products will prevent hundreds of thousands of American 
children and teenagers from using tobacco. Finally, my amendment, 
states the logical conclusion of these two previous statements-that the 
Senate should support an increase in the Federal tax on tobacco 
products in order to protect the health of children and teenagers.
  Mr. President, I would like to go through these three statements in 
order, explaining why I consider them to be irrefutable. First, I have 
stated that the tobacco use among children and teenagers leads to 
addiction, disease, and premature death. Let me offer a few statistics 
to demonstrate how widespread this problem is. More than 3 million 
American children and teenagers smoke cigarettes. Every 30 seconds a 
child in the United States smokes for the first time. And 90 percent of 
new smokers start when they are teenagers or younger.
  As if these statistics aren't frightening enough, they are soon going 
to get worse. Just last month the University of Michigan released a 
study showing that the rate of smoking among children has surged 
upwards over the last 4 years. In 1994, close to 20 percent of eighth 
graders surveyed said they used cigarettes. This is a 30 percent 
increase over the number of eighth graders who smoked in 1991. The 
trend is similar for high school seniors: in 1992, 28 percent said they 
smoked; by last year, this number had increased to over 31 percent. And 
these numbers don't even count the number of children who use smokeless 
tobacco products.
  Mr. President, the fact that well over 30 percent of America's high 
school seniors use tobacco is a cause for great alarm in this chamber 
and around the country. Although the tobacco companies may seek to deny 
it publicly, it is well know that tobacco use causes addition, disease, 
and premature death. Tobacco is directly linked to a wide range of 
illnesses, including heart disease, strokes, emphysema, lung cancer, 
oral cancer, and throat cancer, to name a few. One of every two long-
term tobacco users will die prematurely as a result of their tobacco 
use. That
 totals to 1,100 deaths a day, or over 400,000 deaths a year--more than 
alcohol, heroin, crack, automobile and airplane accidents, homicides, 
suicides, and AIDS combined. Of every 1,000 20-year-olds who smoke 
regularly, 250 of them will die in middle age from tobacco-related 
illnesses. These individuals will cut an estimated 20 to 25 years off 
of their lives as a result of their tobacco use. Another 250 will die 
in old age from a tobacco-related illness. In comparison, only 6 of 
these 1,000 20-year-olds will die from homicides, and only 12 will die 
from car accidents. And, Mr. President, these statistics only show the 
number of today's children and teenagers who will eventually die from 
tobacco use; millions more will spend their lives addicted to nicotine, 
and will suffer from avoidable illnesses as a result of their tobacco 
use.

  Mr. President, most of today's kids do not know these statistics, and 
even if they know them, they often don't believe them. Last Sunday's 
New York Times contained interviews with a group of Texas teenagers who 
smoked. When asked about the health warnings listed on cigarettes, they 
replied with comments such as ``I heard they have a cure for cancer 
now.'' and ``I figure that if they really were so bad for you, they 
wouldn't be selling them everywhere.'' While these kids don't know 
about the health effects of smoking, they certainly know about the 
different brands of cigarettes. Last year, the tobacco industry spent 
about $5 billion advertising their products, and much of this money was 
spent on marketing that appeals to kids. As just one example, consider 
the cartoon character Joe Camel. Six-year-olds are as familiar with Joe 
Camel as they are with Mickey Mouse. Kids can send away for posters, T-
shirts, and sandals with Joe Camel emblazoned all over them. Can it be 
any coincidence that after the Joe Camel campaign was introduced, 
Camel's market share among underage smokers jumped from one-half of 1 
percent to 33 percent?
  Mr. President, the second statement in my sense-of-the-Senate 
discusses one of the most effective measures the Federal Government can 
take to reduce children's use of tobacco. The statement simply says 
that raising the Federal excise tax on tobacco products will prevent 
hundreds of thousands of American children and teenagers from smoking.
  Mr. President, I do not consider this statement a matter of opinon--I 
consider it a fact. It has been proven in study after study. For 
example, a researcher at Harvard's School of Public Health concluded 
earlier this year that every 10 percent increase in cigarette prices 
causes demand among teenagers to decline by as much as 14 percent. And 
a researcher from the Business School at Duke University released a 
study just last month projecting that a 10 percent increase in the tax 
on cigarettes would save approximately 5,200 lives a year. These are 
just two of the studies proving my point. There are many more.
  And it doesn't take a professional researcher to figure out that 
raising the tobacco tax will discourage kids from smoking. Last 
Sunday's New York Times article included an interview with an 18-year-
old girl who had been smoking since she was 12. When asked if she could 
think of a way to get people to quit smoking, she replied:

       Hike the price. If it was $4 a pack, I wouldn't smoke. Of 
     course, I don't want them to do that, but I think if they 
     were serious about it you'd get a lot of people saying, 
     ``That's too much money for a smoke, so forget it.''

  Mr. President, the Senate should act on this young girl's suggestion. 
The third statement of this resolution calls 

[[Page S 11791]]
on the Senate to do just that--to protect the health of children and 
teenagers by raising the excise tax on tobacco. This statement is the 
logical conclusion of the two previous statements. If we are serious 
about protecting our children from addiction, disease, and premature 
death, then we must take effective action to discourage them from using 
tobacco. And, as study after study has shown, raising the tobacco tax 
is one of the--perhaps the--most effective way of reducing children's 
and teenagers tobacco use. National health organizations, including the 
American Medical Association and the American Cancer Society, strongly 
support this approach, calling for a dramatic increase in the tobacco 
tax in order to help deter young people from becoming addicted. My 
resolution also states that the revenues resulting from this increase 
should be used, at least in part, to fund Federal health programs. In 
this way, tobacco can help to offset a portion of the more than $22 
billion in costs which it imposes on the Federal Government each year.
  Mr. President, just last month the head of the National Institute on 
Drug Abuse stated that ``We're not only not making progress on getting 
smoking down among our children--we're beginning to lose the battle.'' 
Mr. President, it is time that the U.S. Senate joined the fight. 
Approving the sense-of-the-Senate can be the first step.


                          ____________________