[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 31, Number 46 (Monday, November 20, 1995)]
[Pages 2026-2027]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6850--National Great American Smokeout Day, 1995

November 15, 1995

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Children are our Nation's most precious resource and most sacred 
obligation. And all of us--whether parents or guardians, teachers or 
coaches, ministers or rabbis, friends or government officials--can play 
a role in nurturing young people and working to ensure their future 
health and happiness. Our children look to us for guidance, and we must 
do all we can to provide them with examples of personal responsibility 
and good citizenship.
    Yet, every day, some 3,000 young Americans become regular smokers, 
falling victim to negative influences and provocative advertisements and 
putting themselves at risk of the diseases caused by nicotine addiction. 
Nearly 1,000 of these children will die prematurely, joining the more 
than 400,000 Americans who lose their lives to tobacco-related illnesses 
each year. For a country so

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deeply devoted to the protection of children, such numbers are a 
national tragedy.
    Recognizing the vital need to reverse these devastating statistics, 
my Administration has proposed measures to limit children's access to 
tobacco products and to reduce tobacco's appeal. In seeking to protect 
our children, we join the countless caring citizens who are observing 
the ``Great American Smokeout,'' a nationwide effort to raise awareness 
of nicotine addiction and the deadly risks associated with tobacco use. 
Working together on this day and every day throughout the year, we can 
create a brighter, healthier future for young Americans.
    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 
16, 1995, 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 smokers and non-smokers alike to 
take this opportunity to begin healthier lifestyles that set a positive 
example for young people.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day 
of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and twentieth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:46 a.m., November 20, 
1995]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
November 21.