| NEWS
RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 27, 2001 |
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Celine Clark (202) 223-4000 |
Families
Devastated by Diseases Linked
to Low Tar Cigarettes
Washington,
DC - In response to today’s release by the National Cancer Institute (NCI)
of a new report detailing the 50-year history of light and low-tar cigarettes,
Dr. Diana Zuckerman, President of the National Center for Policy Research
(CPR) for Women & Families, issued the following statement:
"Families across the country have been victimized by misleading claims
regarding "light" cigarettes. Lung cancer, breast cancer, liver
cancer, emphysema, stroke, heart disease, ectopic pregnancies, miscarriage,
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and other potentially fatal outcomes are apparently
just as likely to be linked to "light" cigarettes, as they are to
smoking "regular" cigarettes.
Smoking light cigarettes is dangerous for everyone, but especially for women
and girls. Young women are more easily addicted to nicotine than young men,
which makes teen experimentation with smoking potentially more dangerous for
girls than for boys.
The NCI report clearly shows that consumers have been misled about the safety
of light or low-tar cigarettes. These cigarettes seem safer when smoked by
machines, but when real people smoke them, those mothers, fathers, sisters,
brothers, sons, and daughters are just as likely to develop lung cancer, emphysema,
and other tobacco-related diseases than people who smoke regular cigarettes.
This report has
frightening implications for families across the country. For decades, people
have smoked these "light" cigarettes because they believed it would
reduce their risk of disease. The NCI report clearly indicates that this is
not the case. It is absolutely essential that the general public be made aware
of this new study so that they fully realize what’s at stake every time they
light a cigarette.
Tobacco causes the deaths of more than 400,00 people every year. It’s time
for Congress to step up to the plate and give the FDA the authority to regulate
tobacco products, so that the public won’t continue to be misled by false
claims about the safety of some kinds of cigarettes."
The National Center for Policy Research for Women & Families is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1999. The mission of CPR is to promote the health and well-being of women and families by using objective, research-based information to encourage new, more effective programs and policies.
National Research Center for Women & Families
1701 K St. NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20006. (202) 223-4000
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