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[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 159 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 159

  To express the sense of the Senate regarding the role of tobacco in 
 leading to addiction, disease, and premature death among children and 
 teenagers, and the role of increased excise taxes in reducing tobacco 
                     use by children and teenagers.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               August 7 (legislative day, July 10), 1995

Mr. Bradley (for himself, Mr. Hatfield, Mrs. Boxer, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. 
 Kohl, Mr. Lautenberg, Ms. Moseley-Braun, Mr. Moynihan, Mr. Simon, Mr. 
    Bingaman, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Simpson) submitted the following 
       resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
  To express the sense of the Senate regarding the role of tobacco in 
 leading to addiction, disease, and premature death among children and 
 teenagers, and the role of increased excise taxes in reducing tobacco 
                     use by children and teenagers.
Whereas more than 3,000,000 American children and teenagers smoke cigarettes, 
        and every 30 seconds a child in the United States smokes for the first 
        time;
Whereas about 90 percent of new smokers start smoking when they are age 18 or 
        younger;
Whereas longitudinal research has indicated that tobacco use among children and 
        teenagers has risen dramatically over the last 4 years;
Whereas tobacco causes heart disease, strokes, lung cancer, throat cancer, 
        emphysema, and numerous other diseases, and kills one out of every three 
        long-term users;
Whereas tobacco causes the premature death of well over 400,000 Americans every 
        year--more than alcohol, heroin, crack, automobile and airplane 
        accidents, homicides, suicides, and AIDS combined;
Whereas numerous researchers have concluded that children's and teenagers' use 
        of tobacco decreases significantly when the price of tobacco increases;
Whereas one study has recently concluded that a small increase in the excise tax 
        on cigarettes would save thousands of lives each year;
Whereas the American Medical Association has recommended that excise taxes on 
        tobacco products should be dramatically increased to help deter young 
        people from becoming addicted; and
Whereas the American Cancer Society has stated that raising tobacco taxes is one 
        of the most effective ways to rapidly and significantly reduce tobacco 
        use by young people: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) tobacco use among children and teenagers has been shown 
        to lead to addiction, disease, and premature death;
            (2) raising the Federal excise tax on tobacco products will 
        prevent hundreds of thousands of American children and 
        teenagers from smoking;
            (3) the Federal excise tax on tobacco products should be 
        increased in order to protect the health of children and 
        teenagers; and
            (4) revenues raised by increasing the excise tax on tobacco 
        products should be used in part to help finance Federal health 
        programs.
                                 <all>
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