Obama signs tobacco bill

bkrueger — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:22:54 -0400

WASHINGTON – The Food and Drug Administration now has authority to regulate tobacco products, under a new law signed this afternoon by President Barack Obama during a Rose Garden ceremony.

With children on stage and sprinkled among audience members, and with the new playground for the presidential daughters in the distance, Obama said the new law will curtail the “constant, insidious” advertising that tobacco companies target to kids, reports Barb Barrett.

He pointed out that nearly 90 percent of smokers start before the age of 18.

“I know; I was one of those teenagers,” Obama said. “I know how hard it is to break the habit once you’ve started.”

Among those at the White House this afternoon was U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat from Wilson, where auctioneers used to rattle off leaf prices after harvest each fall. He represents one of the heaviest tobacco farming districts in the nation.

“This has been a very difficult issue for me,” Butterfield said later. “But when I take a step back and look at it objectively, there’s no question we need to reduce smoking….We need to be realistic about the issue.”

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Obama signs tobacco bill