FDA Bill Will Save Young Virginians From Deadly Addiction

On April 2, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation granting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority over tobacco products.

In Virginia, nearly 9,300 children a year become regular smokers. In our state alone, we spend more than $2 billion on health care costs directly caused by smoking, and 9,700 people die from tobacco each year -- the leading cause of preventable death.

The faith community simply cannot ignore this tragedy because we spend too much time burying mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers who die because they became addicted to tobacco products when they were young.

Now the U.S. Senate has a historic opportunity to protect children and save lives as it considers The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. While this legislation would help protect all Americans from the ravages of tobacco, it includes specific provisions to protect our nation's children from this deadly addiction.

Among other things, the proposed legislation would ban outdoor advertising near schools, remove advertising with colorful pictures that appeal to children from stores and from magazines with high youth readership, and put larger, more effective warning labels on the cigarette packs themselves.

We must call on Virginia's U.S. senators, Mark Warner and James Webb, to support this lifesaving legislation.

The bill includes strong, effective restrictions on advertising and marketing of tobacco products to children. A lifetime addiction almost always starts in the teenage years: 90 percent of adult smokers began smoking as teens. Any attempt to limit the national epidemic of tobacco addiction must begin with children.

By passing the Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act, Congress can take a major step to protect our children and reduce the terrible toll of tobacco on our community.

You can do something really important for our children and families by contacting your members of Congress and telling them to vote for this bill that will protect families and save lives.

The Rev. Marc Brown is director of connectional ministries for the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church.