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I believe tobacco content should be regulated too - - not so as to ban the 

 product, but to ensure that all harmful ingredients that can be removed are 

 removed. 



That Is why 1 Joined Congressman Mike Synar in sponsoring the Fairness in 

 Tobacco and Nicotine Regulation Act. Our legislation would bring tobacco 

 content under the regulation of the Food and Drug Administration and put an 

 end to the tobacco industry's free rein in advertising, labeling, and selling 

 cigarettes and other tobacco products. Our legislation would give FDA the 

 authority to regulate not only nicotine but all ingredients added to tobacco, 

 and to establish rules for labeling and marketing tobacco products to put an 

 end to some of the more egregious practices of the tobacco industry. 



1 cannot emphasize enough the importance of not stopping with the subject 

 of nicotine in cigarettes. This hearing should be only the beginning of a 

 series of hearings looking at tobacco content and how we should sensibly 

 regulate this industry. I 



If, as a result of the recent revelations, we were to regulate only the 

 nicotine content of cigarettes, how would we know whether cigarette 

 manufacturers were starting to add some other ingredient to maintain their 

 hold on smokers? We would have no way of knowing. 



How would we know whether there may be other ingredients added to 

 cigarettes that are equally dangerous? We would have no way of knowing. 



How would we know whether smokeless tobacco products contain harmful 

 additives? We would have no way of knowing. 



We must subject tobacco to comprehensive regulation, as we do foods, 

 drugs, cosmetics, and other consumer products. Tobacco is a deadly product. 

 It should not be exempt from sensible regulation. We must do what we can to 

 protect the public as much as we can without a Prohibition-style ban. The 

 legislation introduced by Mike Synar would replace ignorance with knowledge 

 and expose any and all harmful practices of the tobacco companies. 



So I say to you, Mr. Chairman, thank you for your interest in this 

 subject. I hope you will pursue it tenaciously and comprehensively. I hope 

 that we can work together to address this issue so that, one day, if people 

 choose to smoke they will at least do so with full knowledge of what they are 

 putting into their bodies and with an assurance that any harmful ingredients 

 that can be removed have been removed. Thank you. 



