The Clinton administration has continued federal activism by targeting smoking among young people. We have worked hard to enforce the 1992 Synar amendment to the Public Health Service Act, which makes sure retailers obey state laws regulating access to tobacco products by adolescents. We have teamed up with the U.S. Women s National Soccer Team and the music group Boyz II Men to promote smoke-free lifestyles. And each year we sponsor a nationwide Kick Butts Day to remind young people of the dangers of smoking and encourage them never to start. Still, we re not close to claiming victory.
Tobacco addiction is a fiendish adversary.
The trend of declining cigarette smoking among adults over the past quarter century has stalled in the past five years. And the number of high school students smoking cigarettes has increased during the 1990s. Unless we join ranks, lung cancer rates that have been declining may rise again. But even with these recent reversals, the campaign to curtail smoking in the late 20 th century is a tremendous example of how a public health initiative can change the culture and significantly improve the public health of a nation. Soon after taking office in 1993, President Clinton announced a comprehensive Childhood Immunization Initiative to boost overall immunization rates and close disturbing gaps in rates among racial and ethnic groups.