Political Quotes

“for far too long, the health and welfare of America's children have been jeopardized by a relatively unregulated tobacco industry. "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has amply demonstrated that tobacco use, particularly among children and adolescents, poses perhaps the single most serious threat to public health in the United States." These words aren't mine. They are Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's, the author of the majority opinion in Food and Drug Administration v. Brown and Williamson--the recent case which prevents the FDA from effectively regulating tobacco. We have worked hard to protect our children from the perils of tobacco, but we clearly have not done enough. A study recently released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that over 18 percent of youth between the ages of 12 and 17 are smokers. That translates into 4.1 million kids. And, every day, another 3,000 children join the ranks of their smoking peers. Not only are these children exposing themselves to the long-term health risks that we know tobacco to pose, they are increasing the likeliness that they will develop other harmful addictions. SAMHSA's study has revealed that children who smoke are over 11 times more likely to use illicit drugs and 16 times more likely to drink heavily than are their nonsmoking peers.”