HR 1108 RFS 
(1) The use of tobacco products by the Nation’s 
children is a pediatric disease of considerable pro-
portions that results in new generations of tobacco- 
dependent children and adults. 
(2) A consensus exists within the scientific and 
medical communities that tobacco products are in-
herently dangerous and cause cancer, heart disease, 
and other serious adverse health effects. 
(3) Nicotine is an addictive drug. 
(4) Virtually all new users of tobacco products 
are under the minimum legal age to purchase such 
products. 
(5) Tobacco advertising and marketing con-
tribute significantly to the use of nicotine-containing 
tobacco products by adolescents. 
(6) Because past efforts to restrict advertising 
and marketing of tobacco products have failed ade-
quately to curb tobacco use by adolescents, com-
prehensive restrictions on the sale, promotion, and 
distribution of such products are needed. 
(7) Federal and State governments have lacked 
the legal and regulatory authority and resources 
they need to address comprehensively the public 
health and societal problems caused by the use of to-
bacco products. 
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(8) Federal and State public health officials, 
the public health community, and the public at large 
recognize that the tobacco industry should be subject 
to ongoing oversight. 
(9) Under article I, section 8 of the Constitu-
tion, the Congress is vested with the responsibility 
for regulating interstate commerce and commerce 
with Indian tribes. 
(10) The sale, distribution, marketing, adver-
tising, and use of tobacco products are activities in 
and substantially affecting interstate commerce be-
cause they are sold, marketed, advertised, and dis-
tributed in interstate commerce on a nationwide 
basis, and have a substantial effect on the Nation’s 
economy. 
(11) The sale, distribution, marketing, adver-
tising, and use of such products substantially affect 
interstate commerce through the health care and 
other costs attributable to the use of tobacco prod-
ucts. 
(12) It is in the public interest for Congress to 
enact legislation that provides the Food and Drug 
Administration with the authority to regulate to-
bacco products and the advertising and promotion of 
such products. The benefits to the American people 
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HR 1108 RFS 
from enacting such legislation would be significant 
in human and economic terms. 
(13) Tobacco use is the foremost preventable 
cause of premature death in America. It causes over 
400,000 deaths in the United States each year, and 
approximately 8,600,000 Americans have chronic ill-
nesses related to smoking. 
(14) Reducing the use of tobacco by minors by 
50 percent would prevent well over 10,000,000 of to-
day’s children from becoming regular, daily smokers, 
saving over 3,000,000 of them from premature 
death due to tobacco-induced disease. Such a reduc-
tion in youth smoking would also result in approxi-
mately $75,000,000,000 in savings attributable to 
reduced health care costs. 
(15) Advertising, marketing, and promotion of 
tobacco products have been especially directed to at-
tract young persons to use tobacco products, and 
these efforts have resulted in increased use of such 
products by youth. Past efforts to oversee these ac-
tivities have not been successful in adequately pre-
venting such increased use. 
(16) In 2005, the cigarette manufacturers 
spent more than $13,000,000,000 to attract new 
users, retain current users, increase current con-
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