539 



April 28, 1994 



TESTIMONY OF CONGRESSWOMEN KAREN SHEPHERD SUBMITTED TO THE 

 HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT SUBCOMMITTEE 



Thank you Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to appear before your 

 Subcommittee regarding the need to regulate tobacco products. 



Most of us would never think of eating or drinking something filled with mystery 

 ingredients, and we don't have to. Everything from chewing gum to shampoo clearly 

 lists its ingredients on the side of the package. Except for cigarettes. 



Unlike cosmetics and food, the law permits cigarettes to contain secret 

 ingredients, which until now, have been guarded by the tobacco industry as trade 

 secrets. The time has come to treat cigarettes like the dangerous consumer product 

 that they are. 



States and cities have long been cracking down on smoking in public. Utah 

 Governor Mike Leavitt recently signed legislation which prohibits smoking in all public 

 places, government buildings, schools and workplaces. I am co-sponsoring your bill, 

 which would extend the ban nationwide. The Environmental Protection Agency has 

 rated cigarette smoke a class-A carcinogen. The Occupational Safety and Health 

 Administration has proposed banning smoking in the work place and the Food and 

 Drug Administration is examining whether to regulate nicotine as a drug. In addition, 

 tobacco companies have recently been accused of manipulating the nicotine levels in 

 their cigarettes and conspiring to keep fire-safe cigarettes off the market. 



Now questions have been raised over whether tobacco companies add 

 dangerous chemicals to an already deadly product. Mr. Chairman, I watched in horror 

 as the chief executive officers of the country's tobacco companies came before your 



