[Title 3 CFR 7149]
[Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition) - January 1, 1999 Edition]
[Title 3 - Presidential Documents]
[Proclamation 7149 - Proclamation 7149 of November 19, 1998]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
3Presidential Documents11999-01-011999-01-01falseProclamation 7149 of November 19, 19987149Proclamation 7149Presidential Documents
Proclamation 7149 of November 19, 1998
National Great American Smokeout Day, 1998
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
One of the greatest public health threats facing Americans today is
tobacco addiction and all the related health disorders that come with
it. More Americans die every year from tobacco-related diseases than
from AIDS, illegal drugs, alcohol, fires, car accidents, murders, and
suicides combined. Although we have heard for decades the Surgeon
General's warning that smoking kills, each day more than 3,000 young
Americans become regular smokers--and more than 1,000 of them will die
prematurely as a result.
This past April, the Surgeon General issued a new report on tobacco that
underscores the urgent need for comprehensive legislation to reduce
youth smoking. Over the past 6 years, youth smoking has grown by one-
third, increasing by an alarming 80 percent among African American
youth. Currently, more than 36 percent of high school students smoke,
and recent statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control also
reaffirm what we already know: nicotine creates an addiction that is
extremely difficult to overcome. Unfortunately, 86 percent of our young
people who smoke daily and try to quit are unsuccessful, and casual
teenage smokers--even those who smoke as few as three cigarettes a
month--often go on to become regular smokers.
My Administration has worked hard for comprehensive and effective
tobacco legislation that will cut teen smoking. We will continue our
efforts until the Congress has acted to pass such legislation. Our 1999
budget also includes an unprecedented increase in funding for research
at the National Institutes of Health, and the National Cancer Institute
plans to allocate millions of those dollars for research into prevention
and cessation programs to reduce tobacco use.
Each year, the Great American Smokeout gives us the opportunity to do
what we should do every day: raise awareness among all Americans--but
especially among children and teens--of the dangers of smoking. Through
such youth-related promotions as the Great American SmokeScream and the
Great American Smokeout Pledge, we can encourage young people who smoke
to stop, and we can convince those who don't smoke that they should
never start. Adult smokers should also remember the power of personal
example and make a sincere effort to stop smoking on this special day,
taking an important step toward a better, healthier future.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 19, 1998, as
National Great American Smokeout Day. I call upon all Americans to join
together in an effort to educate our children about the dangers of
tobacco use, and I urge both smokers and nonsmokers to take this
opportunity to begin healthier lifestyles that set a positive example
for young people.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day of
November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight,
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and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred
and twenty-third.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON