[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 5992]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                       AMERICAN LEGACY FOUNDATION

 Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I wanted to take a moment today to 
speak about the American Legacy Foundation. This foundation celebrated 
its 5th anniversary this past month, and I wanted to express my 
continued support for the foundation in the future.
  This foundation, formed under the master settlement agreement reached 
with big tobacco, has worked tirelessly over the last 5 years on its 
mission to build a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone 
can quit.
  We know that tobacco is still the leading cause of preventable death 
in this country. Forty-seven million Americans smoke, and 400,000 
people a year die because of it. Smokers have a one in three chance of 
dying from smoking-related conditions.
  Even more alarming, every day, 3,000 children under age 18 start 
smoking, of which 1,000 will ultimately die of smoking related 
diseases. Almost 90 percent of adult smokers started using tobacco at 
or before age 18; the average youth smoker begins at age 13 and becomes 
a daily smoker by age 14\1/2\.
  The American Legacy Foundation, through its highly effective public 
awareness campaign truth' alone, has helped reduce youth 
smoking rates to a 28-year historic low. I have heard from young people 
in my home state of Iowa who say that seeing the truth' 
television and magazine advertisements have affected their decisions 
about tobacco. The foundation also has a number of successful cessation 
programs in operation across the country.
  The American Legacy Foundation clearly still has work to do. 
Educating American young people about the harmful effects of smoking is 
not merely a 5-year long task. Yet this year, the foundation received 
its last payment from the master settlement agreement. Without 
increased resources, the important work of the American Legacy 
Foundation cannot continue.
  I ask that my colleagues to join with me in recognizing the 
achievements of the American Legacy Foundation and in pledging our 
support for the important work they do educating our nation about the 
dangers of tobacco use.

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