Summary

Ten Democratic senators hold an ad-hoc hearing on tobacco issues, including teen smoking, the FDA rules and addiction.

Source CONUS Archive
Record ID 262966
Story Slug DEMOCRATS HEARING / TOBACCO ISSUES (1996)
Location WASHINGTON, DC
Format TVD
Date 9/11/1996
Archive Time 15:23
TRT 4:30
Supers 1) Justin Hoover / 12-year old addicted to nicotine, Des Moines, IA 2) Senator Frank Lautenberg / D-NJ 3) Dr. Ian Uydess / Former Philip Morris Scientist 4) Morton Downey Jr. / TV Personality and lung Cancer Sufferer 5) Alan Landers / Former Winston Model
Description Ten Democratic senators hold an ad-hoc hearing on tobacco issues, including teen smoking, the FDA rules and addiction.
Script (SUGGESTED TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO) Unknown Speaker 00:01 I have come close but can't completely stop. When I was told that I was going to come to Washington DC, I was nervous to tell people what I've done. But I know that smoking is bad for me, and can affect my health. I don't want my little brother or sisters to start smoking. My brother who is three acts like his krans, or cigarettes, because he sees all of us smoking. If things don't change, I'm sure he will follow in my footsteps, and make me feel bad. I believe the only way I will be able to stop smoking is if I can't get them in stores make them hard. I mean, I'd walk out with five or six packs of cigarettes, I mean, they have Bill row, cigarettes at the convenience store. And all you gotta do is just walk right by there and just grab one and walk by it again, grab another one, just slipping in your cup. Go out. Unknown Speaker 01:12 We've definitely worked on the problem than to not start, we will have succeeded enormously. Unlike one of the presidential candidates, we know that nicotine is addictive. And we know that it should be regulated to protect our children. And today, we're also here to say that we will Unknown Speaker 01:32 read long periods of time. And one of the points I need to make and I've mentioned this before, is few people, very few people have any idea of the depth of knowledge that this industry has, particularly the leaders like Philip Morris, they have been studying these things for 20 or 30 years, allocating tremendous amounts of internal and external resources, bringing in experts to work within their own companies in these very specific areas. Because a cure Unknown Speaker 01:59 that their addicting gift has given to these children. And to think I was a role model for cigarette smoking youth even signing my name on their cigarettes. I estimated the other day I signed over 1100, fully 1% of what I smoked 1100 cigarettes with my name on them when teenagers would walk up and say, Hey, Mort, sign this for me. To that generation, I beg your forgiveness. May the next that smoking Unknown Speaker 02:29 from the family have like a three phase mandatory anti smoking educational program in the school starting off with the child when the child is six years old, when they're able to comprehend at that age, because you heard the little boy talking. So you see what age they're able to comprehend. Start off at six years old. Give them a graphic program, show him exactly how the tumors form, show him the survivors of lung cancer with no voice boxes with voice boxes, the lyrics, take it out scars like I have all of my body mutilated, get really graphic, and tell them the truth about the product. And also, as I explained exactly no magic, how would tumors form have the role models like the John Travolta who has ever had at the time, Arnold Schwarzenegger, have them put out a message about smoking is definitely not cool. Do this at six years old. Do it again at nine years old and catch them again at 13. When they're the most susceptible again, this way, they're growing up believing that smoking is not cool. They're conditioned to believe that it's not cool just the way they are now to be conditioned that it is school the same way I was not to do that. It has to be an all out attack, meaning you have to hit him on no smoking on daytime TV. It can't be a mixed no very Unknown Speaker 03:51 much. Mr. Chairman, I want to join in what I think all of us understand in the industry spends on advertising has sought to $6 billion a year. Unknown Speaker 04:03 So clearly that was a step in the right direction. One other step which I thought was important and one that I had worked on for a long time is the issue of pricing of tobacco products on military facilities. I Unknown Speaker 04:16 did over a month looking for a doctor who had perfected certain types of operations to operate on me and when Unknown Speaker 04:23 his competitors have started merchandising clubs in which you can smoke your way to all kinds of gifts.
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