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THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                          (Eisenach, Germany)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                       May 14, 1998

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

I want to commend Representatives Hansen, Meehan and Waxman for the strong bipartisan support they have marshaled for the legislation they are introducing today to reduce youth smoking in this country. The Hansen-Meehan-Waxman bill contains tough company penalties for failure to reduce youth smoking, full FDA authority to regulate tobacco, strong restrictions on advertising and youth marketing of tobacco products, and key protections against exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. With the introduction of this important bipartisan bill, the House of Representatives can follow the lead of the Senate and finally get down to the serious business of reducing youth smoking in this country. I look forward to working with Representatives Hansen, Meehan, Waxman and all of their House colleagues to pass a comprehensive tobacco bill this year that includes effective measures to reduce youth smoking and that protects farmers and farming communities.

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