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OPPOSITION TO TOBACCO BAILOUT CONTINUES TO GROW [9.9.2]
70 Groups Send Letter To Clinton Urging Him To Reject Seriously Flawed
Deal
Almost 70 public health and other public interest groups have sent President Clinton a letter pointing out the serious flaws in the tobacco deal and urging him to reject the tobacco bailout. The recommended that he use the blueprint provided by the Koop-Kessler instead as a basis for developing a real national tobacco control plan. Following is the text of the letter sent to President Clinton and the list of groups that signed the letter:
Dear Mr. President:
We believe that the Proposed Settlement between the Attorneys General and the Tobacco Industry will fail to protect the health of the American people. We strongly urge you to oppose the Proposed Settlement and look to the recommendations of the Koop/Kessler commission as a national blueprint for tobacco control.
The Proposed Settlement create barriers that would make it almost impossible for the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products. Your leadership was instrumental in granting FDA authority to regulate tobacco. Do not let this be stripped away by the tobacco industry.
Additionally, the settlement would provide virtual immunity for the tobacco industry from future legal action. It insulates the industry from paying any penalty for past wrongs. It provides that "no punitive damages (may be imposed) in individual tort actions." It strips away the right of individuals to band together to bring class-action suits, thereby affording tobacco victims fewer rights than people injured by other consumer products. The tobacco industry should not be shielded from its past behavior or elevated to a protected status under law.
The Proposal will perpetuate the cover-up of the tobacco industry by limiting document disclosure. This prevents the release of many documents shielded by "attorney-client" privilege that show the extent of the industry's wrongdoing.
The Proposal fails all Americans, and specifically communities of color. We have known for years that the tobacco industry has targeted communities of color, including children in those communities. Yet the advertising and promotion restrictions in the proposal are weak and would allow the tobacco industry to continue to target children and persons of color.
There many other serious flaws including the Environmental Tobacco Smoke provisions, the "Look-Back" provisions, public health funding and the complete failure to deal with implications for other countries.
The Clinton Administration has always been a champion of our nation's public health. It would be a travesty to see the Administration shift in support of a Proposal that clearly serves the best interests of the tobacco Industry.
All of our organizations have seen the devastating impact that tobacco has had in communities across this country. We call on you to do what is best for America's public health and oppose this settlement.
FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF CO-SIGNERS:
Action on Smoking and Health Action on Alcohol and Teens - A Citizen's Group, St.Paul, MN; Alianza Dominicana, Inc. Alum Rock Counseling Center, San Jose, CA American Lung Association American Council on Science and Health American Association of Public Health Physicians Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights Anoka County ASSIST Coalition Arizona Addiction Treatment Programs, Inc. Arizonans Concerned About Smoking Inc. Arizonans for Drug-Free Youth Communities Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum Association for Nonsmokers-Minnesota Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans Black Clergy for Substance Abuse Prevention Californians Against Death by Tobacco Citizens for A Tobacco-free Society (CATS) Coalition for SmokeFree Maryland Workplaces Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Colorado Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Pennsylvania Coalition for Workers' Health Care Funds Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, Inc. Community Prevention Coalition of Hennepin County Delaware Valley Clean Air Council, PA Denver Doctors Ought to Care Drug Abuse Prevention Center (DAPC), Santa Barbara, CA Essential Action Fresh Air For Nonsmokers-Washington State, (FANS) GASP of Colorado GASP of Miami Georgians Against Smoking Pollution Health Industry Resources Enterprises Inc. Hispanic AIDS Forum Iowa Healthy Kids Project Kentucky ACTION (Alliance to Control Tobacco In Our Neighborhoods) Little Havana Activities & Nutrition Centers of Dade County, Inc. Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers Maryland GASP Minnesota SOPHE (Society for Public Health Education) Missouri Group Against Smoking Pollution (GASP) Multicultural Area Health Education Center National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organizations (COSSMHO) New Jersey Group Against Smoking Pollution (GASP) Nonsmokers, Inc., AZ North Carolina GASP, Inc. (Group to Alleviate Smoking Pollution) Northeast Valley Health Corporation Patrick Reynolds, Foundation for SmokeFree America Phoenix Chemical Dependency Program Smokefree Action Smokefree Air For Everyone (S.A.F.E.) SmokeFree Educational Services, Inc. SmokeFree Maryland Coalition SmokeFree Pennsylvania Smoking & Tobacco Action Campaign, TX Stop Teenage Addiction to Tobacco (STAT) Texas Association of Nonsmokers The Praxis Project The Center for Tobacco and Health Cost Information Tobacco Education & Action Coalition for Health, (TEACH) Tobacco Free Las Cruces Coalition Tobacco Free Future Coalition in Washington County Tobacco Free Wisconsin Coalition Tobacco-Free Michigan Action Coalition U.S. Public Interest Research Group Virginia GASP Washington Doctors Ought to Care Wisconsin Initiative on Smoking and Health, (WISH)