Sanford Bishop: “today we will introduce a bill to protect our kids against tobacco use. It is called the Tobacco Use by Minors…”

“today we will introduce a bill to protect our kids against tobacco use. It is called the Tobacco Use by Minors Deterrence Act and it will stop access by children to tobacco. It is a model law tying health funds for States to their efforts to keep tobacco away from our kids. It outlaws the sale to or possession by kids of tobacco products. It requires parental notification of violations by kids. It provides civil fines and loss of driver's license for kids who are caught. It provides loss of license to sell by retail outlets for repeated infractions. It requires training of employees, posting of notices, lock-out devices for vending machines. In short, it provides for a shared responsibility by kids, families, law enforcement, and retailers to protect the health, safety, and welfare of our kids against tobacco use while protecting the right of informed adults to make a choice. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to consider supporting this. It is a win-win situation. It protects our kids against tobacco but at the same time it protects a legal product with adult choice.”