U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), who first introduced legislation in the Senate to strengthen warnings on cigarette labels in 1997, today applauded the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for choosing new graphic labels that send a tough message about the dangers of smoking.
The nine health warning labels finalized today must be used on all cigarette packages and advertisements starting in September 2012. Lautenberg is a longtime Senate leader in the fight against Big Tobacco and began pushing for better disclosure of tobacco ingredients and warning labels from tobacco companies in the 1990s.
“For decades, Big Tobacco got away with slick marketing campaigns that fooled the public into thinking smoking was glamorous – and now we’re turning the tables on them. Each time a smoker reaches for a pack of cigarettes, the deadly truth will be staring them in the face,” Lautenberg said.
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"I applaud the FDA for breathing new life into our country’s efforts to alert the public to the lethal consequences of tobacco addiction. I've been working for over a decade to make these warning labels a reality, and I believe the FDA has taken a crucial step to make people – especially teenagers – think twice before lighting up."
Lautenberg introduced the “Ingredient Disclosure and Labeling Act” in 1997, the first Senate proposal to revise tobacco warning labels. The legislation called for clear warning labels in large type – very similar to the warning labels finalized today.
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Components of the Lautenberg proposal were eventually folded into Sen. Ted Kennedy’s (D-MA) landmark “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act,” which was enacted in 2009, with Senator Lautenberg's strong support. That law required HHS to implement the new labels finalized today that include textual warning statements and color graphic images depicting the negative health consequences of smoking.
Lautenberg is also the author of the law that banned smoking on domestic airline flights.
