HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NINETY-EIGHTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON H.R. 1824 A BILL TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL PROGRAM TO INCREASE THE AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION ON THE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF SMOKING, TO AMEND THE FEDERAL CIGARETTE LABELING AND ADVERTISING ACT TO CHANGE THE LABEL REQUIREMENTS FOR CIGARETTES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES MARCH 9 AND 17, 1983 Serial No. 98-8 Printed for the use of the Committee on Energy and Commerce 19-956 O U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1983 Stanford Law Library 3 6105 062 994 152 COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE JOHN D. DINGELL, Michigan, Chairman JAMES H. SCHEUER, New York EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts AL SWIFT, Washington RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama MIKE SYNAR, Oklahoma W. J. "BILLY" TAUZIN, Louisiana RON WYDEN, Oregon RALPH M. HALL, Texas DENNIS E. ECKART, Ohio WAYNE DOWDY, Mississippi BILL RICHARDSON, New Mexico GERRY SIKORSKI, Minnesota JOHN BRYANT, Texas JIM BATES, California JAMES T. BROYHILL, North Carolina WILLIAM E. DANNEMEYER, California THOMAS J. BLILEY, JR., Virginia MICHAEL G. OXLEY, Ohio HOWARD C. NIELSON, Utah CONTENTS Blackwell, Roger, Ph. D., on behalf of The Tobacco Institute Blau, Theodore H., Ph. D., clinical and child psychologist, Tampa, Fla..... Brandt, Edward N., M.D., Assistant Secretary for Health, Department of Eysenck, H. J., Ph. D., D.Sc., professor of psychology, Institute of Psychia- Fisher, Edwin B., Jr., Ph. D., chairman, smoking and health committee, board member, American Lung Association. Fisher, Edwin R., M.D., professor of pathology, University of Pittsburgh Gotto, Antonio M., Jr., M.D., D. Phil., president-elect, American Heart Henney, Jane E., M.D., deputy director, National Cancer Institute, De- 406 Mendelsohn, Harold, Ph. D., on behalf of The Tobacco Institute.. Minton, David, Washington counsel, Magazine Publishers Association Rogers, Hon. Harold, a Representative in Congress from the State of Rubin, Eric M., counsel, Outdoor Advertising Association of America. Sharp, Charles Crenshaw, Charles Sharp and Associates....... Sommers, Sheldon C., M.D., pathology physician, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, and Columbia University Stevens, Arthur, general counsel, on behalf of The Tobacco Institute.. 323 153 Material submitted for the record by: Health and the Environment Subcommittee, Committee on Energy and Report: Health Hazards Associated with Alcohol and Methods to 309 Pertschuk, Michael, letter, dated September 1, 1982, from Timothy Muris 208 Coalition on Smoking OR Health, Matthew L. Meyers, staff director. 254 290 American Newspaper Publishers Association Flue-cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corporation National Automatic Merchandising Association Seltzer, Carl C.... Tindal, Leslie D. Tobacco Institute, The: Comments of the Institute on the FTC report on the cigarette adver 795 804 797 799 776 774 Hopkins, Larry J. 941 Sommers, Sheldon C., M.D., group of letters pertaining to the Multiple SMOKING PREVENTION EDUCATION ACT WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 1983 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:50 a.m., in room 2322, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Henry A. Waxman (chairman) presiding. Mr. WAXMAN. The meeting of the subcommittee will please come to order. We would like to welcome all of our guests here today for this hearing. This morning, the subcommittee will begin hearings on H.R. 1824, the Comprehensive Smoking Prevention Education Act. The legislation is similar to bills introduced during the last Congress, and is cosponsored so far by 33 Members of the House, including Mr. Scheuer, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Ottinger, and Mr. Whittaker of the subcommittee. Our subjects this morning are the health effects of cigarettes and the adequacy of existing smoking prevention activities. Smoking has been characterized by the Surgeon General and public health experts as this Nation's most preventable cause of death and ill ness. If this were an issue involving a food or drug, I doubt we would be considering this legislation today. The Food and Drug Administration is charged with assuring that the public is adequately warned about the health effects of drugs and that hazardous foods and drugs are removed from the market. Yet, no Federal agency has jurisdiction over cigarettes. Cigarettes-our Nation's No. 1 killer-stand virtually unregulated. The responsibility to regulate the cigarette industry falls to the Congress. In 1965, Congress required the first health warning label. In 1970, the warning was revised and cigarette advertising on TV and radio was banned. In 1983, 13 years after the 1970 legislation, it is time to again revise Federal policy by strengthening the health warning label and expanding public education activities. The Federal Government has a substantial interest in this issue. Each year 300,000 Americans will die due to smoking related diseases. Thousands more will be debilitated by smoking related illness or undergo painful treatment for diseases like cancer. The simple truth is that smoking is a life or death gamble and the odds are heavily stacked against the smoker. (1) |