THE CLINTON/GORE ADMINISTRATION:
STRATEGIES TO REDUCE TEEN SMOKING

When it comes to the job of protecting children from smoking, it is up to Congress to finish the job. When the new Congress returns in January, we are going to work hard to make sure that comprehensive tobacco legislation becomes law.

Vice President Al Gore
November 19, 1998

Today, Vice President Gore unveiles new initiatives to help prevent children from smoking, including a new advertising campaign and a challenge to schools across the country to adopt model community-based prevention programs. He also announces a major new tobacco research plan for the 21st century, including $142 million over five years for state and community-based programs and new transdisciplinary centers for tobacco research.

A Comprehensive Tobacco Research Strategy. Celebrating the American Cancer Society's annual Great American Smokeout, the Vice President will unveil a comprehensive research strategy for the National Cancer Institute (NCI), including $142 million over the next five years for new tobacco research. The Vice President is:

• Launching Two New Research Initiatives, the first initiative is for new Transdisciplinary Tobacco Research Centers that will bring researchers from a variety of scientific disciplines together to develop innovative approaches to questions such as why children start smoking and effective ways to help them stop; the second initiative will fund research on additional effective state and community tobacco control interventions;

• Unveiling NCI's First Ever Tobacco Research Implementation Plan that will guide tobacco use research strategies into the next century. This report documents the ongoing problems of tobacco use and outlines new approaches for research in epidemiology, genetics, and effective tobacco control efforts;

• Announcing That NCI will Hold a Meeting with States and Community Tobacco Control Experts to seek their input on NCI's new investments, collaborate on what experts know about effective state and community based programs, provide technical assistance for new state programs, and develop strategies for collecting and sharing information as more states invest in these programs.

A New Advertising Campaign That Targets Underage Smoking. The President and Vice President strongly support efforts to reach children before they start smoking. The Vice President will make two important announcements about new efforts to tell kids that smoking can kill you:

• The first ever nationwide ads targeting underage smoking will run as part of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, headed by General McCaffrey. This $16 million ad campaign features nine ads developed with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the states;

• The Vice President is calling on every school around the nation to adopt effective programs to target youth smoking. Based on successful school-based curriculums that have proved effective at preventing and stopping youth smoking, the Vice President will announce that the CDC has set up a toll-free number -- 1-800-CDC-1311 where parents and educators can learn more about these programs.

Passage Of National Tobacco Legislation Will Be A Top Priority For The Administration In The Next Congress. While a state tobacco settlement may be reached early next week, the President and Vice President believe that the state settlement is only a first step and the next Congress must still finish the job. Enacting national tobacco legislation will be one of the Administration's top priorities for the next Congress. The new Congress has the chance to put politics aside and do what the last Congress failed to do --by acting now to prevent three million children from starting smoking and saving one million lives over the next five years.

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