National Great American Smokeout Day, 1999

Proclamation 7251 of November 18, 1999

National Great American Smokeout Day, 1999

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Tobacco use continues to be the leading preventable
cause of death and disease in the United States,
costing more than 400,000 lives and $50 billion in
medical expenses each year. Some 3,000 Americans under
the age of 18 become regular smokers every day, and we
know that at least 1,000 of these new smokers will die
prematurely from a tobacco-related disease. As caring
adults and responsible citizens, we must do all we can
to keep another generation of Americans from succumbing
to the lure of tobacco. Each year, the Great American
Smokeout provides people across our Nation with an
opportunity to stand united in our efforts to help
smokers quit and to convince our fellow citizens who
don't smoke that they should not start.

Some positive statistics reinforce this message.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, each year an estimated 1.2 million adult
smokers successfully quit smoking--permanently. Smokers
who quit before age 50 substantially increase their
expected lifespan, compared with those who continue
smoking after they turn 50. Former smokers also reduce
their risk for coronary heart disease, cardiovascular
disease, lung cancer, emphysema, and stroke.

My Administration has worked hard to identify the best
practices for preventing tobacco use among our young
people and encouraging those who do smoke to quit. I
have asked the Congress to discourage young people from
smoking by funding important health programs and
raising the price of cigarettes. I have also urged the
States to invest a portion of the substantial funds
they acquired in last year's settlement with tobacco
companies in programs that help reduce youth smoking
while not abandoning tobacco farmers and their
communities.

During this 23rd Great American Smokeout, I encourage
all Americans to create a healthy, tobacco-free
environment for themselves, their children, and their
fellow citizens. I also ask that part of this special
day be spent engaging youth in discussions about the
dangers of tobacco use, teaching them how to establish
healthy lifestyles, and helping them to develop
effective measures for becoming or remaining tobacco-
free.

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 18, 1999, 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
practice a healthy lifestyle that sets a positive
example for young people.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-fourth.