541 



solvent that is flammable and has 'moderate' toxicity"? These chemicals must be 

 researched. There has been an increase in breast cancer in women from 1 in 20 to 1 

 in 8. True, this increase coincides with the increase in smoking among women, but 

 are these chemicals also contributing to the higher cancer rates ? In order to know we 

 need research and full disclosure of the chemicals added to cigarettes. 



We have trusted the tobacco companies long enough. They have withheld 

 information and denied science. Profits are clearly more important to them than human 

 health. 



I have introduced legislation that would force cigarette companies to label their 

 products. The goal of the legislation is to provide consumers with the same 

 information they get before buying other products they take into or use on their 

 bodies. 



The fact is, you can walk into any grocery store and find extensive labeling on 

 products. A simple can of soda pop has a label listing its fat, sugar and protein levels; 

 how many calories it has and what ingredients it contains. The labels were mandated 

 to help consumers make educated choices about what they put into their bodies. The 

 labels were mandated to make sure companies are truthful in their advertising. And 

 yet cigarettes--a product we know to be deadly, has only one thing printed on the side 

 of the box: a warning label that smoking tobacco will cause, among other things, 

 cancer. Warning people is a good start, but now we have reason to believe that 

 consumers are smoking more than just tobacco. Until we push for strict regulations 

 and force cigarette companies to make their ingredients known, consumers will 

 continue to suffer the consequences. 



