[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 33 (Monday, August 17, 1998)]
[Page 1633]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Petition to the Court of Appeals on Regulation of 
Tobacco Products

August 14, 1998

    The Solicitor General has today authorized the filing of a petition 
in the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit seeking rehearing en banc 
of the three-judge panel's decision regarding FDA regulation of tobacco 
products. I am firmly committed to the FDA's rule and its role in 
protecting our children from tobacco. Confirming the FDA's authority 
over tobacco products is necessary to help stop young people from 
smoking before they start by stopping advertising targeted at children 
and curbing minors' access to tobacco products. Almost 3,000 young 
people become regular smokers each day, and 1,000 of them will die 
prematurely as a result. If the leadership in Congress would act 
responsibly, it would enact bipartisan comprehensive tobacco legislation 
to confirm the FDA's authority and take this matter out of the 
courtroom.