Historic FDA Tobacco Regulation Bill Signed

RHAMC Invited to the White House to Witness Signing  

From left: Vice President Joe Biden, Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), President Barack Obama,and Dick Durbin (D-Illinois)		President Barack Obama and Joel Africk, President and CEO of RHAMC

Supporters of tobacco control celebrated a huge victory yesterday when President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act into law.

In recognition of our organization's long commitment to tobacco control, Joel Africk, Respiratory Health Association's President and CEO was invited to Washington to attend the bill signing. Our volunteer leadership, our staff and our hundreds of volunteers worked for many years toward this legislation and similar tobacco control policies at the local and state levels. 
 
"We applaud President Obama, Senator Durbin and all of Congress for their foresight in passing this legislation. This law will save thousands of lives and many millions of dollars in healthcare costs," said Joel Africk.  "It was a great honor to witness history as this bill became law."

The new Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act will empower the Food and Drug Administration to:

• Ban the use of deceptive titles such as "light" and "low tar"
• Require tobacco companies to reduce or remove harmful ingredients
• Require larger warnings on packages
• Require full ingredient disclosure on cigarette packages
• Further restrict marketing of cigarettes to children

"The historic signing for the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act culminates more than 20 years of advocacy work by our organization and the public health community," said RHAMC Board member Janet Williams. "The tobacco industry for far too long controlled how its product was produced and promoted."

A key provision of the act - requiring ingredients disclosure and package warning labels - has been standard in other parts of the world.  With the support of Congress and the President, "Big Tobacco" will now have to let everyone know exactly what toxic chemicals and poisons its products contain, empowering consumers to have a full understanding of the risks.
 
Congratulations and thank you to everyone who has worked so hard in pursuit of this important cause. We will continue to be vigilant in monitoring the activity of tobacco companies and we will continue to provide smokers the necessary tools they need to help them quit.  

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RHAMC Applauds Passage of FDA Regulation of Tobacco

The United States Senate passed the "Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act." This historic legislation will give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products.

While tobacco has earned the distinction of being the deadliest consumer product on the shelves of our stores, it is one of the least regulated products in America. "By granting FDA authority to take an aggressive stand against this deadly industry, we can save millions of lives and greatly reduce the toll of tobacco," said Joel Africk, President and CEO of the Respiratory Health Association.

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act will mandate larger health warnings on packages, require detailed ingredient disclosure and require tobacco companies to fund the FDA activity. This act also empowers the FDA to require changes in tobacco products, such as the removal or reduction of harmful ingredients.

This new law includes specific restrictions on youth access to tobacco and marketing including limits on advertising near school and prohibiting certain sponsorships and giveaways. The FDA may also ban candied or flavored tobacco products that are clearly geared towards youth.

U.S. Surgeon General has found that smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ of the body including lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart disease. The economic burden of tobacco is staggering with an estimated cost of $4 billion in tobacco-related health care costs in Illinois alone.
"Tobacco use leads to a staggering number of deadly diseases and medical complications," said Joel Africk. "This law will save millions from the health burden of tobacco use and we owe a debt of gratitude to Illinois Senator Durbin for his principled leadership on this legislation."

This proposal advanced through the United State Senate and House of Representative and will soon go to the President for his signature. President Obama has indicated he will sign the historic measure into law.

Respiratory Health Association brought dozens of advocates, patients and volunteers to Washington D.C. to advocate on behalf of FDA regulation of tobacco. Also thousands of calls, letters and emails were sent on behalf of this proposal. Thank you to all who worked on behalf of this legislation.

 

On May 31st, 2009, Respiratory Health Association joined the World Health Organization and others in recognizing World No Tobacco Day – a day that focuses attention on the devastating impact of tobacco use worldwide. Health authorities agree that tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death, yet each year, more than 5 million people around the world die from its effects.

This year’s World No Tobacco Day theme is “Tobacco Health Warnings,” calling for policymakers, health professionals, and the general public to push for picture-based warnings on all tobacco products. These warnings, which use graphic images to depict the harmful health effects of tobacco use, have been shown to be effective in motivating users to quit and in reducing the appeal of tobacco to others.  

RHAMC supports the World Health Organization’s global efforts around tobacco control and is committed to helping individuals locally to live smoke-free lives. We offer multiple quit smoking resources throughout the metro Chicago area, including Courage to Quit, a group or one-on-one quit smoking program built upon proven tobacco dependence treatments, and Healthy Lungs Initiative, a partnership with the Cook County Health and Hospitals System to improve the lung health of Cook County residents.

To learn more about these programs, please contact Mamta Gakhar at (312) 229-6186.

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Cook County Board President signs
Green Construction Ordinance

Cook County becomes the first county in the Midwest to adopt a green construction ordinance that restricts deadly diesel soot. Cook County Board Commissioners and Respiratory Health Association joined President Stroger at the signing of the Green Construction Ordinance on May 28th.

The ordinance will require all Cook County contractors working on public construction contracts, budgeted at $2 million or more, to use ultra clean diesel fuel and pollution controls that remove up to 90 percent of exhaust soot from their diesel vehicles and equipment. Cook County Commissioner Roberto Maldonado (D-District 8) was the Chief Sponsor of the ordinance. The ordinance was also sponsored by President Stroger and Commissioner Murphy (D-District 6) and Commissioner Silvestri (R-District 9).

“Reducing diesel pollution from construction vehicles and equipment is an effective strategy in improving the County’s air quality, which currently violates federal health standards for fine particulate matter,” said Joel Africk, President and CEO of RHAMC.  “We are excited to see the Commissioners taking action to clear the air in the County."

Reducing diesel pollution will protect the public’s health. Diesel exhaust is known to cause numerous health problems, including lung cancer, asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, and premature death. In the Chicago Metropolitan area alone, it is estimated that diesel soot causes 755 deaths, 1,021 heart attacks, 476 cases of chronic bronchitis, and 17,017 asthma attacks each year. Reducing diesel pollution is also an effective strategy in mitigating global warming. Black carbon from diesel exhaust, pound for pound, is 500 times more potent than carbon dioxide. 

To learn more about the Green Construction Ordinance, click here.