[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 226 (Tuesday, November 24, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 64839-64840]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-31531]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 226 / Tuesday, November 24, 1998 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 64839]]

                Proclamation 7149 of November 19, 1998

                
National Great American Smokeout Day, 1998

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                One of the greatest public health threats facing 
                Americans today is tobacco addiction and all the 
                related health disorders that come with it. More 
                Americans die every year from tobacco-related diseases 
                than from AIDS, illegal drugs, alcohol, fires, car 
                accidents, murders, and suicides combined. Although we 
                have heard for decades the Surgeon General's warning 
                that smoking kills, each day more than 3,000 young 
                Americans become regular smokers--and more than 1,000 
                of them will die prematurely as a result.

                This past April, the Surgeon General issued a new 
                report on tobacco that underscores the urgent need for 
                comprehensive legislation to reduce youth smoking. Over 
                the past 6 years, youth smoking has grown by one-third, 
                increasing by an alarming 80 percent among African 
                American youth. Currently, more than 36 percent of high 
                school students smoke, and recent statistics released 
                by the Centers for Disease Control also reaffirm what 
                we already know: nicotine creates an addiction that is 
                extremely difficult to overcome. Unfortunately, 86 
                percent of our young people who smoke daily and try to 
                quit are unsuccessful, and casual teenage smokers--even 
                those who smoke as few as three cigarettes a month--
                often go on to become regular smokers.

                My Administration has worked hard for comprehensive and 
                effective tobacco legislation that will cut teen 
                smoking. We will continue our efforts until the 
                Congress has acted to pass such legislation. Our 1999 
                budget also includes an unprecedented increase in 
                funding for research at the National Institutes of 
                Health, and the National Cancer Institute plans to 
                allocate millions of those dollars for research into 
                prevention and cessation programs to reduce tobacco 
                use.

                Each year, the Great American Smokeout gives us the 
                opportunity to do what we should do every day: raise 
                awareness among all Americans--but especially among 
                children and teens--of the dangers of smoking. Through 
                such youth-related promotions as the Great American 
                SmokeScream and the Great American Smokeout Pledge, we 
                can encourage young people who smoke to stop, and we 
                can convince those who don't smoke that they should 
                never start. Adult smokers should also remember the 
                power of personal example and make a sincere effort to 
                stop smoking on this special day, taking an important 
                step toward a better, healthier future.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim November 19, 1998, as 
                National Great American Smokeout Day. I call upon all 
                Americans to join together in an effort to educate our 
                children about the dangers of tobacco use, and I urge 
                both smokers and nonsmokers to take this opportunity to 
                begin healthier lifestyles that set a positive example 
                for young people.

[[Page 64840]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                nineteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-third.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 98-31531
Filed 11-23-98; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P