Groups Seek Funds for Tobacco Cessation and Prevention, Forfeiture of Profits

Six public health groups today asked the U. S. Supreme Court to authorize a trial court to require major cigarette manufacturers to pay for a broad public education campaign against smoking, as well as programs to help smokers quit. The groups also asked that the trial court be empowered to require the tobacco companies to forfeit profits they made during decades of illegal activity.

ACS, ACS CAN and other health partners filed as friends of the court to rebut arguments in the tobacco industry's lawsuit against the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA). FSPTCA provides the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products.

ACS CAN has submitted comments on priority issues we hope the FDA will address in the coming months as it implements the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

Before the ink was dry on the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco products and the marketing of those products, the industry filed a lawsuit challenging several provisions.

The first steps by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in implementing The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act have already started and ACS CAN will continue to be a strong advocate for enforcing the law and ensuring that our kids are protected from Big Tobacco.

Statement of John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, American Cancer Society and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)