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STATEMENT OF SCOTT D. BALLIN 



Good Morning Mr. Chainnan and members of the Subcomminee. My name is Scott 

 Ballin, Vice President for Public Affairs for the American Heart Association. I am 

 speaking on behalf of the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, and 

 American Lung Association, united as the Coalition on Smoking OR Health. Thank you 

 for holding this hearing today to discuss the need for regulation of tobacco products by the 

 Food and Drug Administration. 



Today, Mr. Chainnan, is in many respects an historic hearing, a potential significant turning 

 point for the health of the American public. Since the first Surgeon General's report was 

 released thirty yean ago this January, the tobacco industry and the deadly products it sells 

 have escaped regulation under all of the major health and safety laws enacted by Congress 

 designed to protect public health. These laws include the Consumer Product Safety Act, 

 the Toxic Substances Act, the Fair Labeling and Packaging Act, and the Federal 

 Hazardous Substances Act. Applying any of these laws to tobacco products would probably 

 have resulted in the products being removed from the market place. That is how 

 dangerous and hazardous these products have been and are to the health of the American 

 public. Instead, we have a product that is virtually unregulated for health and safety. 

 These special protections for tobacco products have conservatively resulted in the 

 premature deaths of over 10 million Americans. And the epidemic of tobacco related 

 deaths continues and will continue until the tobacco industry is forced to adhere to 

 regulation standards that are designed to protect the health of Americans rather than the 

 profits of the tobacco industry. 



While tobacco products have been exempted from regulation under most health and safety 

 statutes, there is one health and safety act that does not include a specific exemption for 

 tobacco products. That is the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. As this 

 subcommittee is well aware, the Food and Drug Administration is the primary agency in 



