[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 46 (Monday, November 20, 2000)]
[Pages 2886-2887]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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Proclamation 7378--National Great American Smokeout Day, 2000

 November 15, 2000

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

    In the 24 years since the American Cancer Society organized the 
first Great American Smokeout, our country has made encouraging progress 
in our battle to reduce the devastating human and economic toll that 
tobacco products take on our society. Today we have a more comprehensive 
understanding of the dangers of tobacco use and the sophisticated 
marketing tactics used by tobacco companies, and we have developed more 
effective methods for helping people break their addiction to tobacco 
products.
    Despite the progress we have made, tobacco remains the leading cause 
of preventable death in our Nation, with more than 400,000 casualties 
from tobacco-related illness each year. Since the first report of the 
Surgeon General on smoking and health was issued in 1964, 10 million 
Americans have died from causes attributed to smoking. More than 50 
million Americans are currently addicted to tobacco. Every day, another 
3,000 young Americans become regular smokers; of these, nearly 1,000 
will die prematurely.
    A recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health has shown 
that young people become addicted to nicotine much more quickly than we 
previously thought. Adolescents who smoke as infrequently as once a 
month still experience symptoms of addiction. That is why my 
Administration has urged the Congress to raise the tax on cigarettes and 
grant authority to the Food and Drug Administration to limit tobacco 
marketing and sales to youth. I have also called on all the States to 
devote a substantial portion of their tobacco settlement funds to reduce 
youth smoking. Currently, tobacco companies are spending nearly $7 
billion a year to market their products, dramatically more than the 
Federal Government and all 50 States combined are spending on tobacco 
prevention and cessation programs.
    My Administration has also joined with the American Cancer Society 
and other public health organizations in calling for public and private 
health plans to provide coverage for and access to proven tobacco 
cessation methods. We know that helping people quit smoking produces 
immediate and long-term health benefits--saving money and saving lives.
    National Great American Smokeout Day presents all of us with the 
opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the health and safety of all 
Americans. Smokers who quit smoking for the duration of the day can lead 
by example and take the first crucial step toward better health. 
Nonsmokers can teach children about the dangers of using tobacco and 
strengthen our Nation's efforts to eliminate young people's exposure to 
secondhand smoke.Through efforts like the Great American Smokeout and 
the implementation of proven tobacco prevention programs, we are moving 
toward my Administration's goal of cutting smoking rates among teens and 
adults in half within the decade.
     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, 2000, 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 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 fifteenth day 
of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
fifth.
                                            William J. Clinton

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., November 20, 
2000]

 Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on November 17, and it was published in the  Federal Register  
on November 21.

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