Frank Lautenberg: “today I am introducing the Worldwide Tobacco Disclosure Act of 1997. I am joined by Senators Wyden, Durbin, and Harkin.…”

“today I am introducing the Worldwide Tobacco Disclosure Act of 1997. I am joined by Senators Wyden, Durbin, and Harkin. Our bill will address a loophole in current law that enables packages of cigarettes to be exported from this country without warning labels and to prevent the executive branch from undermining other countries' restrictions on tobacco. Within a few decades, the World Health Organization estimates that 10 million people will die annually from tobacco-related disease, up from 3 million per year. An astonishing 70 percent of those deaths will be in developing countries. To give my colleagues a basis for comparison, in America, today, approximately 400,000 die a year from tobacco. While smoking has declined 10 percent since 1990 in developed countries, the WHO concludes it has risen an alarming 67 percent in developing countries during that same period. American tobacco exports have increased by almost 340 percent since the mid-1970's, and these exports now account for more than half of our tobacco companies' sales. America is rightfully proud of its exports and the standards it upholds in international trade. But with tobacco, we're exporting death. We are the largest exporter of a product we know kills, and that is not something about which we should be proud. With marketing savvy and millions of dollars, American tobacco companies have significantly increased cigarette consumption in developing countries.”