[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 109 (Wednesday, August 5, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1554-E1555]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CIGARS ARE NO SAFE ALTERNATIVE ACT OF 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 5, 1998

  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Cigars Are No 
Safe Alternative Act of 1998.
  Mr. Speaker, available scientific evidence demonstrates that regular 
cigar smoking causes a variety of cancers including cancers of the lip, 
tongue, mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx, and lung. That same evidence 
demonstrates that heavy cigar smokers and those who inhale deeply are 
at increased risk of coronary heart disease and can develop chronic 
lung disease. Despite these serious and deadly health risks, cigar use 
is up dramatically in the United States over the last five years: small 
cigar consumption has increased by an estimated 13%, large cigars by 
70%, and premium cigars by a whopping 250%. Teenagers are a fast-
growing market for these deadly tobacco products. In fact, data from 
the Centers for Disease Control's 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey 
indicate that among high school students, over 30 percent of the males 
and 10 percent of the females are current cigar smokers.
  Mr. Speaker, cigars are not a safe alternative to cigarettes. 
Compared to a cigarette, nicotine yields for cigars are 9 to 12 times 
greater; tar yields 2 to 3 times greater; and large cigars emit 20 
times more ammonia, and up to 10 times as much other cancer causing 
agents.
  In order to drive home the message that smoking cigars is not a safe 
alternative to smoking cigarettes, I am introducing the Cigars Are No 
Safe Alternative Act of 1998. The CANSA Act will prohibit the sale and 
distribution of cigars to any individual who is under the age of 18. It 
will directly impose restrictions on the sale and advertising of cigars 
directed at youth, and eliminate cigar advertising on electronic media. 
It will encourage cigar manufacturers to end the practice of paying 
for, or participating in cigar product placements in movies and on 
television where a substantial segment of the viewing audience is under 
the age of 18. And it will direct the FDA to require warning labels on 
cigars to warn cigar users about the health risks presented by cigars.
  Mr. Speaker, the CANSA Act will also require the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services to conduct a study on the health effects of 
occasional cigar smoking, nicotine dependence among cigar smokers, 
biological uptake of carcinogenic constituents of cigars, and 
environmental cigar smoke exposure. It will require the Federal Trade 
Commission (FTC) to report to Congress on the sales, marketing, and 
advertising practices associated with cigars. And in addition, the 
Secretary, acting in cooperation with the FDA, the FTC, and the 
Department of Treasury, shall be required to monitor trends in youth 
access to, and use of, cigars and notify Congress of the results.
  Mr. Speaker, if and when Congress does act to reduce teen smoking, we 
must send the unambiguous message to children and adolescents that 
cigars are no safe alternative to

[[Page E1555]]

cigarettes. I urge all members to become cosponsors of the Cigars Are 
No Safe Alternative (CANSA) Act of 1998, and to support its passage in 
the House.

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