STATEMENT FROM LSUHSC PUBLIC HEALTH ABOUT SMOKING CONTROL LAW

New Orleans, LA – The LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health released the following statement regarding the new smoking control law:

President Barack Obama signed into law the Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act on Monday June 22, 2009. This law charges the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with regulation of the manufacture, marketing and sale of tobacco products. This milestone legislation now places tobacco products where they belong - with other consumer products which have long been regulated by the FDA.

The Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act prohibits tobacco companies from using techniques to lure children into use of tobacco; requires tobacco companies to list all toxins and additives in tobacco products; requires larger and more graphic warning labels on cigarettes; and other appropriate regulatory approaches.

Elizabeth Fontham, DrPH, Dean of the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health, notes that tobacco is the only consumer product that kills more than half of its regular customers. "It’s high time the FDA was given the authority to treat tobacco like other consumer products."

Dr. Charles L. Brown, Jr., LSUHSC Professor of Public Health and Chairman of the Louisiana Tobacco Free-Living Steering Committee, says "This move to place tobacco products under FDA control started in the 1990's. The new law is the result of the entire Public Health Community working tirelessly toward creating a national standard of control over this drug. A continued downturn in use, particularly among children, is anticipated which will benefit the overall health of the nation."

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LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans educates the majority of Louisiana's health care professionals.  The state's academic health leader, LSUHSC comprises a School of Medicine, the state's only School of Dentistry, Louisiana's only public School of Public Health, Schools of Allied Health Professions and Graduate Studies, as well as the only School of Nursing in Louisiana within an academic health center. LSUHSC faculty take care of patients in public and private hospitals and clinics throughout Louisiana. In the vanguard of biosciences research in a number of areas worldwide, LSUHSC faculty have made lifesaving discoveries and continue to work to prevent, treat, or cure disease. LSUHSC outreach programs span the state.

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