[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
[February 28, 1997]
[Pages 222-223]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on the Initiative To Protect Youth From Tobacco
February 28, 1997

    Thank you, Anna Santiago, for the power of your example and for that 
very fine introduction. I want to thank all the young people who are 
here, the advocates who are here, the Members of Congress who are here 
who have championed this battle for so long. Especially, I thank the 
Vice President, Secretary Shalala for what they have done.
    And of course, I want to have a special word of thanks to David 
Kessler. I think he's had a bigger impact on the lives and health and 
the future of the American people than any person who ever held the job 
of FDA Commissioner before him, and I thank him very much. Because of 
David Kessler, we have been able to undertake this initiative to protect 
our young people from tobacco. Because of your actions over the last 6 
years, more AIDS and cancer patients are getting better drugs faster, as 
well; more people are getting better information on their food labels; 
every American can go to bed knowing that the food on their tables, the 
medicines in their cabinets are safe. You've left us a great legacy. All 
Americans should be grateful to you, and we'll do our best to replace 
you. The Vice President and I would like to be invited to Yale from time 
to time to give a speech. [Laughter]
    Let me say that the reason we're all here today is to ensure that 
Anna and all the young people behind me, and the young people all across 
America for whom they stand today, have a chance to live out their 
dreams. They can only do that if they choose positive and healthy 
lifestyles and if we give them the support they need to make those 
choices. That's why the number one goal of the drug strategy we 
announced earlier this week is to motivate our children to reject 
illegal drugs.
    Most of us have an instinctive urge to protect our young people from 
danger. We teach them to look both ways before crossing the street. We 
tell them not to touch a hot stove. We make sure they bundle up before 
going out in the cold. We should wrap that same protective arm around 
them when it comes to resisting smoking and the advertising and 
marketing of cigarettes.
    More Americans die every year from smoking-related diseases than 
from AIDS, car accidents, murders, suicides, and fires combined. Today 
it's estimated that 4\1/2\ million of our children and adolescents 
smoke. Another 1 million use smokeless tobacco. The problem is getting 
worse. Smoking rates among eighth graders have risen 50 percent in the 
last 6 years. One out of every three young people who picks up this

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deadly habit will have their lives shortened from the terrible diseases 
caused by smoking. As parents, as leaders, as citizens, all of us have a 
moral obligation to do what we can to protect them. That's why last 
August the FDA took bold action to protect our children from the dangers 
of tobacco. We knew it would be a tough battle, but the health and well-
being of our children are worth that. We set a goal of reducing tobacco 
use by children and adolescents by 50 percent over 7 years. To do that, 
we initiated the Nation's first-ever comprehensive effort to restrict 
access and limit the appeal of tobacco to children.
    Today is the first day that some of these rules take effect, quite 
appropriately on David Kessler's last day on the Federal payroll. First, 
we're making the law of the land what is already the law in every State: 
no sale of tobacco products to anyone under age 18. Second, we're now 
requiring age verification by photo ID for anyone under the age of 27 
for the purchase of tobacco products. From now on, in every store in 
America, our children will be told, ``No ID, no sale.'' By requiring ID 
checks for people under 27, store clerks and managers will no longer 
have to guess the age of those seeking to buy cigarettes.
    Studies show that minors succeed in buying cigarettes over the 
counter nearly 70 percent of the time. That simply must stop. With these 
new requirements, we'll help to keep cigarettes out of reach of our 
young people while giving store clerks and managers a tool they need to 
make sure they're not inadvertently violating the law by selling to 
minors.
    Before we came out here, Secretary Shalala asked Anna if all of her 
efforts and all of these efforts were having any impact in reducing the 
tendency of her peers to smoke. And she said, ``Yeah, a lot of them are 
quitting because it's too much hassle now.'' [Laughter] That's the idea. 
[Laughter] That's good.
    Over the last 3 weeks, we've conducted massive education campaigns 
to let retailers know how they can comply with these new rules. We've 
even prepared this new guide, ``A Retailer's Guide to the New Federal 
Regulations''--appealing advertising, multi-color. [Laughter] This has 
been made available to 500,000 retailers around the country. I want 
every retailer and every community across our Nation to join with us in 
this important effort.
    Parents must continue to be the first line of defense, but all the 
rest of us have to make these rules work, and the retailers can play a 
major role. I honestly believe the overwhelming majority of them want to 
do so, and most of them are parents too. They have children too. We have 
a common interest in doing this job together. And we hope this guide 
will help them to achieve that goal.
    Cigarettes are still legal for adults. If they want to smoke, they 
can do so. But we have now clearly as a nation drawn a line where our 
children are concerned. We have done it together. We are committed 
together. And now we must make it real together.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 10:47 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the 
White House. In his remarks, he referred to Anna Santiago, Campaign for 
Tobacco Free Kids 1996 Advocate of the Year.