Dick Durbin: “This is an issue which hits close to home for many Americans. It is an issue we have faced in our families where people…”

“This is an issue which hits close to home for many Americans. It is an issue we have faced in our families where people we dearly love have been victims of tobacco-related disease. It is an issue which we face every day in America when children make the decision to start using tobacco products--either spit tobacco or cigarettes--and become addicted, and one out of every three of those children who choose the addiction will die from it. That is a reality. Tobacco is still the No. 1 preventable cause of death in America today. It is preventable if we do our job, regulating the product. The bill before the Senate says we will give to the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco. The Food and Drug Administration operates under a law which specifically excludes tobacco. It said tobacco is neither a food nor a drug. It falls between the cracks.”