National Great American Smokeout Day, 1998

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, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-third.