[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
[May 7, 1996]
[Pages 695-696]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Teleconference Remarks on Kick Butts Day From Woodbridge,
New Jersey
May 7, 1996

[The President's remarks were joined in progress.]

    The President. ----And we have proposed an FDA regulation to crack 
down on--[inaudible]. We've proposed ways to make it harder for children 
and for teenagers to buy cigarettes by reducing their access to vending 
machines and free samples. But we also need people who are--
[inaudible]--be more rigorous. We just spoke to three young people here 
who said they had no trouble at all buying cigarettes. Two were 16 and 
one was 13, and they said the overall success rate was something like 74 
percent for the students in the middle and high schools who--
[inaudible]--to buy cigarettes. So we're going to have to work on that.
    I just want to say that I believe that this is a problem we can 
solve if we work together, if we see young people like these young 
people here working with their parents, their schools, their communities 
to fight against the lure and the availability of smoking for teenagers. 
And we're going to do what we can at the national level to do our part 
as well.
    Mark Green, I want to especially thank you for your role in making 
today happen and for being a critical national leader on this issue; for 
your successful campaign to ban cigarette machines in New York City in 
1990; to your leadership in organizing this national effort. You've 
really been a pioneer, and we're very grateful to you. And I thought you 
might like to give a brief overview of this day.
    Can you hear me, Mark? We may have lost him.

[Mark Green, New York City public advocate, said that Kick Butts Day is 
an opportunity for kids to talk back and fight back against the tobacco 
merchants and that it is a way to discourage kids from starting to 
smoke. He then described the effectiveness of tobacco ads di-


[[Page 696]]

rected at children and praised Kick Butts Day as an effort to educate 
children.]

    The President. Thank you very much, Mark. And I want to say again 
how much I appreciate the work you have been doing. You have been out 
there on this issue a long time, and I think the country is coming 
around. And I think that the young people like those who joined me here 
today are going to play a critical role in helping us to defeat this 
problem.
    I would like to ask Governor Chiles of Florida, if he is on the 
phone, to say a few words. He has had a terrific fight in Florida in his 
efforts to protect children from the dangers of smoking, and I honor him 
for his courage and his determination not to back down in the face of 
intense pressure.
    Governor Chiles?

[Governor Lawton Chiles said he was with a group of PRIDE children from 
several schools, high school students who put on performances with 
antidrug messages. He added that the Florida Legislature had not 
overridden his veto and the State's lawsuit against tobacco companies is 
going forward. The Governor then introduced student Lamont Tinker who 
indicated that smoking is bad for the whole body and that the Kick Butts 
campaign is a good thing.]

    The President. Thank you.
    Governor Chiles. Mr. President, Lamont and myself and all the kids 
at Pine View and all of our PRIDE young people are just delighted to 
have a chance to join with you today.
    The President. Thank you, Governor. And I want to thank that young 
student. He did a terrific job.
    I want to say again to the young people who are listening on this 
call, you can very often have a lot more influence on your peers than 
the rest of us can. And I'll keep working in Washington to do what we 
should be doing at the national level, but you have to do your part in 
making sure that in your community people don't sell cigarettes to 
minors, that we don't have an excessive exposure to advertising directed 
at young people. And you can do it. You can have an impact on your 
classmates not to start smoking, and we can turn this around.
    So if we all work together, we'll be successful. And again, I want 
to thank you all for being a part of this Kick Butts Day and for being a 
part of a commitment to give your generation a healthy and strong 
future.
    God bless you all, and thank you very much.
    Governor Romer, are you on the phone?
    Governor Romer. Yes, I am.
    The President. Would you like to say a word about your efforts in 
Colorado?

[Governor Roy Romer introduced Colorado, California, and Texas students 
active in the antismoking campaign. He then introduced a student who had 
participated in a Butt Out Day survey of local stores in which she found 
tobacco products in the same aisle with candy and ice cream.]

    Governor Romer. Mr. President, thank you. I just wanted to give you 
a report from the West. I really appreciate your leadership in this 
effort.
    The President. Thank you. And I want to thank Ageno and the other 
students for the work they did on the survey, and for their reports.
    Keep after it. We'll keep working, and we'll keep moving forward. I 
feel very good about this. The degree of the intensity that so many 
young people in America feel about this issue is the most hopeful thing 
about it, and we just all need to stay in there with them and keep 
working. We can whip this thing.
    Thank you all very much, in all the 11 cities on the phone, thank 
you very, very much.

Note: The President spoke by telephone at 1:25 p.m. from Woodbridge High 
School to participants across the Nation. In his remarks, he referred to 
Ageno Otii, a student at Morey Middle School, Denver, CO. Due to 
telephone difficulties, the President's opening remarks were inaudible, 
and a portion of the remarks could not be verified because the tape was 
incomplete.