tes did not expressly exempt tobacco, the report states. Tobacco is the only legal product for which the government's stated goal is to suppress use altogether rather than to promote safe or responsible use. Moreover, recent revelations of the industry's efforts to manipulate nicotine levels to encourage addiction have eroded the supposition that all smokers have freely assumed the risks of smoking and are solely responsible for the consequences, the committee noted.

"Smoking is a habit with potentially deadly consequences that is often taken up by adolescents before they can truly appreciate the risk of addiction," said committee chair Richard J. Bonnie, John S. Battle Professor of Law and director, Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville. "We propose aggressive steps to end the tobacco problem -- that is, to reduce tobacco use so substantially that it is no longer a significant public health problem. This report offers a blueprint for putting the nation on a course for achieving that goal over the next two decades."

The desire to educate youth and limit their access to tobacco underlies many of the committee's recommendations because of the high rate at which teens start smoking. Most smokers start before they turn 18, and the rate of daily smoking among high school seniors has hovered around 20 percent for most of the past two decades. Adolescents generally recognize the harmful effects of smoking, but typically overestimate their ability to escape addiction and fail to appreciate fully the personal impact of the long-term health consequences, the report says.

The committee believes that federal regulation is an essential element of a comprehensive approach to tobacco control. Therefore, it urges Congress and the president to give FDA the authority to enforce standards for nicotine reduction and to regulate companies' claims that their products reduce exposure or risk. And
'"/>

Contact: Christine Stencel
news@nas.edu
202-334-2138
The National Academies
24-May-2007

Page: 1 2 3 4
Related medicine news :

1. New treatments needed for irritable bowel syndrome
2. Animal BiP levels determine amount of recovery sleep needed following prolonged wakefulness
3. More research needed to involve families in psychosocial interventions
4. New health insurance survey -- Women have trouble affording care needed
5. Teens get needed access to care with state health insurance
6. General physicals prompt needed cancer screenings
7. Biologists learn structure of enzyme needed to power molecular motor
8. Study indicates different treatment may be needed for infection-related breathing problems
9. Lessons from Vioxx case -- New approach needed to restore faith in pharmaceutical industry
10. Clear guidelines on oral chemotherapy needed
11. Better review of new technology is needed to reduce health costs