[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 46 (Monday, November 22, 1999)]
[Page 2400]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7251--National Great American Smokeout Day, 1999

November 18, 1999

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Tobacco use continues to be the leading preventable cause of death 
and disease in the United States, costing more than 400,000 lives and 
$50 billion in medical expenses each year. Some 3,000 Americans under 
the age of 18 become regular smokers every day, and we know that at 
least 1,000 of these new smokers will die prematurely from a tobacco-
related disease. As caring adults and responsible citizens, we must do 
all we can to keep another generation of Americans from succumbing to 
the lure of tobacco. Each year, the Great American Smokeout provides 
people across our Nation with an opportunity to stand united in our 
efforts to help smokers quit and to convince our fellow citizens who 
don't smoke that they should not start.
    Some positive statistics reinforce this message. According to the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each year an estimated 1.2 
million adult smokers successfully quit smoking--permanently. Smokers 
who quit before age 50 substantially increase their expected lifespan, 
compared with those who continue smoking after they turn 50. Former 
smokers also reduce their risk for coronary heart disease, 
cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, emphysema, and stroke.
    My Administration has worked hard to identify the best practices for 
preventing tobacco use among our young people and encouraging those who 
do smoke to quit. I have asked the Congress to discourage young people 
from smoking by funding important health programs and raising the price 
of cigarettes. I have also urged the States to invest a portion of the 
substantial funds they acquired in last year's settlement with tobacco 
companies in programs that help reduce youth smoking while not 
abandoning tobacco farmers and their communities.
    During this 23rd Great American Smokeout, I encourage all Americans 
to create a healthy, tobacco-free environment for themselves, their 
children, and their fellow citizens. I also ask that part of this 
special day be spent engaging youth in discussions about the dangers of 
tobacco use, teaching them how to establish healthy lifestyles, and 
helping them to develop effective measures for becoming or remaining 
tobacco-free.
    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 
18, 1999, 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 both smokers and nonsmokers to 
take this opportunity to practice a healthy lifestyle that sets a 
positive example for young people.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day 
of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and twenty-fourth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., November 22, 
1999]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
November 23.