Artciles by Cynthia

RICHMOND, Va. — The faith community “simply cannot ignore” the tragedy of preventable deaths caused by smoking each year, according to the Rev. Marc Brown, director of Connectional Ministries for the Virginia Conference.

Brown made his declaration in a commentary, “FDA Bill Will Save Young Virginians from Deadly Addiction,” published last Sunday in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

We spend too much time burying mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers who die because they became addicted to tobacco.

The commentary was prompted by the April 12 vote in the U.S. House of Representatives that overwhelmingly approved legislation granting the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) authority over tobacco products.

“In Virginia, nearly 9,300 children a year become regular smokers,” Brown pointed out. “In our state alone, we spend more than $2 billion on health care costs directly caused by smoking, and 9,700 people die from tobacco each year, the leading cause of preventable death.”

Brown declared that the faith community simply cannot ignore this tragedy “because we spend too much time burying mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers who die because they became addicted to tobacco products when they were young.”

The U.S. Senate has a historic opportunity, according to Brown, to protect children and save lives as it considers “The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.” “While this legislation would help protect all Americans from the ravages of tobacco,” he said, “it includes specific provisions to protect our nation's children from this deadly addiction.”

The proposed legislation would ban outdoor advertising near schools, remove advertising with colorful pictures that appeal to children from stores and from magazines with high youth readership, and put larger, more effective warning labels on the cigarette packs themselves.

The bill includes strong restrictions on advertising and marketing of tobacco products to children. “A lifetime addiction almost always starts in the teenage years,” Brown emphasized. “Ninety percent of adult smokers began smoking as teens. Any attempt to limit the national epidemic of tobacco addiction must begin with children.”

Brown said that by passing act Congress can take a major step “to protect our children and reduce the terrible toll of tobacco on our community.”

Brown told his readers they “can do something really important for our children and families” by contacting their members of Congress and telling them to vote for this bill that will protect families and save lives.