Urge Congress to Support FDA Authority Over Tobacco
     
   

The Academy needs you to take action to make a real difference for children's health by helping pass historic legislation providing FDA authority over tobacco. FDA authority would help restrict marketing and advertising of tobacco products that appeal to children, stop illegal Internet sales and reduce the amount of toxins in cigarettes. A few months ago, the Academy cheered when the U.S. Senate voted 78 to 15 to pass strong FDA authority as part of a large tax bill called the Foreign Sales Corporation/Extraterritorial Income Tax (FSC). Unfortunately, the House version of the same bill did not include the FDA regulatory piece. Now, the bill goes to a conference committee made up of House and Senate members who decide what will stay in this bill and what goes. We must call Congress and tell them FDA regulatory authority is critical! Time is running out, Congress will adjourn next week and your action is needed to secure FDA authority in the bill. We are up against a tough campaign from the tobacco industry. Other child advocates heard from one senator that his phones were shut down by all of the calls urging him to vote against FDA regulation. You can help by CALLING your member of Congress - even if he/she is not on the conference committee, he/she can tell the committee members it means a lot to America's pediatricians.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

1) CALL YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS!

Call the U.S. Congress switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your member of Congress anytime between 9 am and 5 pm EST. To find out who your members of Congress are or to get their direct contact information, go to http://capwiz.com/aap3/dbq/officials/. Use the sample phone script below.

PHONE SCRIPT:

I am calling, as a pediatrician from the district, to urge the Senator/Representative to make sure the final FSC tax bill includes the DeWine/Kennedy provision, which gives the FDA authority over tobacco. This is an historic opportunity to protect our nation's children and save lives. Congress needs to pass FDA authority over tobacco NOW. Tobacco companies are currently marketing candy-flavored cigarettes that appeal to children. These cigarettes come in flavors like coconut, strawberry and vanilla, and they have names like Twista Lime, Kauai Kolada and Midnight Berry. Congress must pass the FDA legislation now to protect our children's health from marketing campaigns like these. Please don't let this historic opportunity go to waste.

2) WRITE AN EMAIL TO FAAN@AAP.ORG and let us know you made the calls.

Need more info?

To find out if your member of Congress is a conference committee member, go to www.aap.org/moc, click on federal affairs, then Legislative Alerts and Issues, then Conference Committee on FDA Regulatory Authority. For more information on the bill, go to www.aap.org/moc, (Member ID required), click on federal affairs, then Urge Congress to Support FDA Authority. If you have questions or concerns, contact Taryn Rosenkranz, AAP Department of Federal Affairs, (800) 336-5475, ext. 3004, or trosenkranz@aap.org.

Thanks for your continued advocacy work!