Legislative Action on Tobacco and Smoking

Abstract

To the Editor.— I would like to commend you for dedicating your Feb 28 issue to the subject of tobacco abuse. Over the last several years, Congress has considered a large number of bills introduced to curtail voluntarily the use of tobacco. In 1982, I introduced legislation to amend the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965, replacing the old warning with four stronger health warnings. After three years of intensive legislative activity, a series of hearings, executive sessions, and floor debate in both the House and Senate, this legislation was unanimously approved by Congress and signed into law. This year, Senator Richard Lugar and I introduced legislation that places three strong health warnings on smokeless tobacco products along with regulating advertising. This legislation was approved by Congress a few weeks ago and only recently signed into law by the President. In addition, the 16-cent tax on cigarettes, which