Tobacco Documents Online

477 Den Road Stamford, CT' 06903 Ma rch 5, 19' 8 2 Senator. Qrrin G. Hatch Chairman Cbmmittee on Labor & Human Resources 42I30'Dirksen Senate Office Building Wiashington,, D. C. 20510 Dear Senator Hatch: This is toirequest your support in defeating S. 19'291. This Bi.lll represents bad legislation and will succeed only in generating another costly government bureaucracy. To the best of my knowledge, there is no evidence -- or even the basis for alplausible assumption -- that the public is unaware of the alleged connection betweenicigarette smoking and potential hea7lth problems. Smokers smoke because they choose to in spite of consi:derable social pressure. Therefore, it makes absoiutely, no sense for new government programs to further expand upon what the Department of Health and Human Services is now doing to edu- cate the public. Publishing a rotating schedule of health warnings on all cigarettee packages and advertisingiwould not only be ineffective but would, also be extremely costly and an administrative nightmare for the tobacco manufacturers and their suppliers. Importa tly, S. 19'29 also represents another attempt to push ad- vertising regulationibeyond any previously accepted bounds by those who would have the government totally control our lives. There are serious restrictive implications in this Bill that could set un- fortunate precedence in many areas beyond the tobacco industry and~, therefore, it is extremely important that this Bill be killed. Sincerely, , D'RB/kme