    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [May 17, 2000]
    [Page 955]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on the Need for Congressional Action on Tobacco
    May 17, 2000

        New studies released by independent researchers today underscore the
    need for congressional action in the fight to protect our children from
    the dangers of tobacco. New studies by the Massachusetts Department of
    Public Health and the American Legacy Foundation show that tobacco
    advertising in magazines read by large numbers of kids has increased
    over one-third since the 1998 settlement agreement between States and
    tobacco companies. In addition, not only have tobacco companies
    increased the number of magazine ads targeted to young people, they may
    actually be doing it more effectively. The studies show that these ads
    are actually being seen by more young people. Top brand advertising
    alone now reaches 70 percent of all teens.
        I call on the attorneys general from the States who signed the
    agreement to take immediate and appropriate enforcement action to stop
    these practices. And again, I call on Congress to give the FDA
    meaningful authority to regulate the marketing, sale, and manufacturing
    of tobacco products. The youth-oriented advertising addressed in these
    studies would have been limited by the FDA rule. FDA's hands should not
    remain tied by congressional inaction.
        In 1998 Senators Frist and McCain introduced a bill that would have given the FDA
    authority to regulate the marketing and sale of tobacco products.
    Unfortunately, a weak, watered-down bill was introduced yesterday that
    would allow the marketing practices revealed today to continue. Instead
    of protecting our children from tobacco, some in Congress are actually
    trying to block out efforts to hold the tobacco industry accountable for
    decades of deception, as a Senate appropriations committee recently
    passed a rider that would stop the Justice Department from proceeding
    with litigation to recover Federal tobacco-related health costs from
    tobacco manufacturers. I urge Congress to reject this blatant effort to
    put special interests ahead of the taxpayers.