The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 14, 1994 - 5
anel urges
measures to
curb youth
tobacco use
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON - A prominent
scientific advisory organization yes-
terday recommended aggressive mea-
sures to curb tobacco use among the
young, including a $2-per-pack tax on
cigarettes and government regulation
of the manufacture and promotion of
tobacco products.
The report was issued by the Insti-
tute of Medicine (IOM), the health
*licy advisory arm of the National
Academy of Sciences.
Along with the excise tax hike and
the call forbroad regulatory oversight,
the report recommends measures to
curb youth access that include banning
tobacco vending machines, prohibit-
ingcigarettegiveawaysin public places
and through the mail and requiring
merchants to obtain state licenses to
X11 tobacco products. The licenses
ould be revoked or suspended if a
merchant sells tobacco to minors.
In addition, the report, titled "Grow-
ing Up Tobacco Free" and published
by the National Academy Press, rec-
ommends that Congress repeal the fed-
eral law that precludes state and local
governments from regulating local to-
bacco ads, including billboards, bus
and subway ads and point-of-purchase
splays.
Such strong policy recommenda-
tions are unusual for the traditionally
cautious and academically oriented
Institute of Medicine.
ButRobertCook-Deegan, director
oftheIOM's Division ofBiobehavioral
Sciences and Mental Disorders, said
that when it comes to smoking, there
was little disagreement yesterday over
*e scientific issues.
"The groundwork had been laid,"
Cook-Deegan said, leaving only the
question of "what are we going to do
aboutit?"
The tobacco industry was quick to
dismiss the report. Industry spokesper-
snn Tom Lauria of the Tobacco Insti-
tute derided the findings as "100-per-
cent recycled rhetoric."
Lauria said the IOM conclusions
*ere not surprising since the report's
creators - theIOM's Committee on
PreventingNicotine Addiction in Chil-
drenandYouths-is virtually "a Who's
Whoof the anti-smoking movement."
Althoughthetobaccoindustryspon-
sors a number of campaigns opposing
underage smoking, the 14 authors of
the IOM report found that these pro-
grams have never been proved effec-
eve.
Smoking rates among adults have
been dropping over time, but rates
among young smokers have held steady
and could be rising, said Paul R.Torrens,
chairperson of the group that produced
the report.
"Almost all high school seniors who
smoke believe that they will be able to
quit within five years after graduation;
&wever, eight years later, research has
own that three out of four are still
smoking," Torrens said.
"Youth are not in aposition to make
sound decisions about tobacco use and
are surrounded by inducements which
compel them to start a lifelong pattern
of smoking and other tobacco use, the
consequences of which they do not
fully understand - and will not fully
nderstand until it is too late," Torrens
! d. "The bottom line is 1 million
youth become smokers every year -
that's a million too many."
You don't know it
yet - but we
are part of
your education!
Democrats hope
to regain ground
on cri-mepolicy
President Clinton signs the crime bill at a Rose Garden ceremony as Vice President Gore, Stephen Sposato,
wife was killed by a gunman, Mark Klass, whose daughter Polly was kidnapped and killed, and others look o
ichigan police, pro40secutoi
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - For at least a
generation, ever since Richard M.
Nixon made "law and order" a center-
piece of his 1968 presidential cam-
paign, crime has been among the stron-
gest weapons in the Republican party's
arsenal of political issues. With Presi-
dent Clinton's signing of the crime bill
yesterday, Democrats hope they have
finally constructed a workable shield.
Indeed, in a fall campaign season
thatpromises little but pain for Demo-
crats, passage of the crime bill has
become one of the party's few bright
spots - one that congressional candi-
dates are vigorously exploiting in races
across the United States.
AP PHOTO Needless to say, Republicans are
whose not yet ready to abandon the field. As
whos Democrats trumpet the bill's popular
tn. features-a "three strikes and you're
out" law, federal aid to putmorepolice
on the streets, a ban on military-style
assault weapons, new federal death
penalties, and funds for crime preven-
tion programs -Republicans already
have continued to sound the complaint
they issued during the congressional
debate on the bill this summer: too
d. "That much spending.
icers and The two conflicting claims in that
e crime, debate, however, should not obscure
ice or to two substantial developments. First,
munities Clinton can rightly say that in winning
could be passage of a crime bill,he broke a six-
y by fed- year jam in which gun control oppo-
nents on the one side and death penalty
Harrison opponents on the other side had been
translate able to block passage of any bill.
his 125- Clinton emphasized that point in
signing the bill. Surrounded by police
now and officers, clergy and members of Con-
Harrison gress on a flag-decked stage, Clinton
be avail- hailed the bill as an example of prevail-
ntion and ing over Washington gridlock.
"For six years, Washington debated
a crime bill without action while more
and more children died and more and
more children became criminals and
foreclosed a productive life for them
selves," Clinton said.
"Today, at last, the waiting ends,"
he added. "Today the bickering stop,
the era of excuses is over, the law-
abiding citizens of our country have
made their voices heard."
So far, that claim has not helped
Clinton much. Pollsters who have con-
ducted surveys recently say voters give
Clinton credit for having stood up for
the bill's assault weapon ban and for
fighting the National Rifle Associa-
tion. But the president's overall popu,
larity has continued to slide in recent
weeks, and the polls show little indica-
tion the crime bill has altered that trend.
White House aides blame that fact
on the intensity of Clinton's opponents.
"When you get $25 million of opposi-
tion shoved down your throat, it has an
impact," said one White House official
Aides hope that with more events
like yesterday's aimed at reminding
voters of the parts of the bill they like,
they can begin to overcome that impact,
Beyond Clinton, however, the bill's
second impact is noticeable. While in-
dividual Republicans continue to find
they can make substantial gains by
labeling their Democratic opponents
as "soft on crime," the GOP as a whole
appears to have lost its once-exclusive
hold on the issue. Democrats cannot
claim to have captured the issue for
theirown, but at least they no longer are
running from behind.
At yesterday's ceremony, Sen.
Dianne Feinstein stood directly behind
Clinton, visible from almost any cam-
era angle, and smiled broadly as Vice
President Al Gore praised her for her
sponsorship of the bill's assault weap-
ons ban.
on hand for crime b;'
WASHINGTON (AP) -
Michigan's top crimefighters were on
hand yesterday as the nation's new $30
billion crime bill was signed in Wash-
ington, led by President Clinton and
Vice President Al Gore.
Although there was only one vote
of approval from Michigan's Republi-
cans, much of the original opposition
to the bill has faded, leaving many
supporters among the ranks of
Michigan's law enforcers.
Warren police commissioner Paul
R. Pash and Ferndale police chief Joe
Sullivan joined Rep. Sander Levin (D-
Southfield) at the outdoor celebration.
Pash said hehopes to hire 10police
officers to fill the positions of retirees
he couldn't afford to replace on his
227-officer staff.
"The majority of this bill is aimed at
having an impact on street crime, and
that's what we've been looking for,"
Sullivan said. "Like anything, it re-
quires manpower and equipment to
achieve our goals."
The two said they hoped to work
with nearby community forces in crime-
fighting efforts. The task forces would
enable agencies to pool resources to do
work they wouldn't be able to do indi-
vidually, such as fight drug networks
that cross city lines.
"Major cities get federal money
and assistance," Sullivan sai
additional law enforcementoff
equipment will tend to mov
We need something to balan
offset that, otherwise as comn
directly adjacent to Detroit wet
negatively impacted effectivel
eral money."
Pontiac Mayor Charlie H
said he hoped the bill would t
into 20 additional officers for
officer police force.
"We're short-staffed righti
we need to do something," h
said. "Preventative money will
able for education, drug preven
recreational purposes."
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