Contact: AAP Division of Public Relations, 847-981-7877
For Release: March 21, 1997
PEDIATRICIANS SAY USE TOBACCO SETTLEMENT TO HELP CHILDREN
CHICAGO--The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) today called for monies resulting from a recent legal settlement by a tobacco company to be rolled into state Medicaid programs that benefit children and other victims of tobacco use. The AAP statement follows in the wake of a recent legal agreement by the Liggett Group, Inc., to settle lawsuits in 22 states seeking to recoup the medical costs of treating smokers.
"The American Academy of Pediatrics applauds the recent legal settlement against Liggett, because it removes the smokescreen the tobacco industry has created for decades," said AAP President Robert E. Hannemann, MD, FAAP. "Whether through tobacco advertising directed at children or second-hand smoke, children have been and continue to be the unknowing victims of the tobacco industrys duplicity."
According to the settlement, 25 percent of Liggetts pretax profits in the next 25 years are designated to cover tobacco-related health care costs. In todays AAP statement, the nations pediatricians are calling on the 22 states to add the settlement to their existing Medicaid budgets. Monies that should have been spent for children on Medicaid have for years been siphoned from this program to treat preventable illnesses caused by tobacco. Pediatricians point out that Congress actually intended for Medicaid money to be used for health programs for low-income women and children.
"Weve known for years that the tobacco industry has marketed their products to children and youth through cutesy cartoon characters and merchandising strategies," said Dr. Hannemann. Now that the industry has admitted this, it only seems fair to children that a portion of the settlement also should fund health care for them. Tobacco manufacturers currently spend about $3.27 billion dollars each year on advertising and nearly 3,000 children begin smoking each day.
To reduce this health hazard, the AAP calls on Congress and the Federal Trade Commission to ban all tobacco advertising in all media; sponsor counter advertisements about the dangers of tobacco; strengthen health warnings on cigarette labels; and increase the federal excise tax on tobacco products.
With nearly 48 million adults smoking cigarettes, many children also are at risk of exposure to second-hand smoke. This environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is associated with increased illnesses in children, including lower respiratory illness, ear infections, asthma and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). ETS from cigarettes, cigars and pipes is composed of more than 3,800 different and possibly dangerous chemical compounds.
EDITORS NOTE: Smoking is a serious health risk to our children. To respond to this child health epidemic, the American Academy of Pediatrics will focus on smoking prevention as the theme for Child Health Month this October. This effort will kick off a three-year campaign aimed at preventing tobacco, alcohol and drug use by children. Join with the Academy this October during Child Health Month and help us protect our children from these dangerous substances.
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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 53,000 pediatricians dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.
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