In a historic moment during his regular Saturday radio address, President Clinton, accompanied by Vice President Gore, officially announced the ban on smoking in all federal buildings. In a historic moment during his regular Saturday radio address, President Clinton and Vice President Gore announced the ban on smoking in all federal buildings. Vice President Gore has joined me today to talk to you about what we're doing to reduce smoking, especially by young people, and to protect Americans from the potential threat of second-hand tobacco smoke.
Cigarette smoking is the most single, significant public health problem facing our people today.
Every year, more Americans die from smoking-related diseases than from AIDS, car accidents, murders, suicides and fires combined, taking a terrible human toll and putting great financial burdens on our health care system and on businesses all across America. And we launched a comprehensive plan that prohibits retailers from selling tobacco to minors, and requires clerks to check IDs before selling cigarettes to the young people. This week, I signed historic legislation that balances the budget in a way that protects our values, invests in our people and prepares us for the 21st century. But we must do more to protect all Americans from the dangers of smoking. One of the most important things we can do is to protect those who don't use tobacco from the threat of second-hand smoke.