ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 13, 1996 TAG: 9602140017
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: From The Washington Post and The Associated Press
A new combatant entered the tobacco wars Monday: the National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids.
The group, created with start-up funds of $30 million from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and American Cancer Society, also is supported by the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association and other organizations that have long fought the tobacco industry. It should be fully operational by June.
The group's goals: to find ways to keep children from smoking. If that sounds familiar, it should, since it bears a striking resemblance to the stated goals of the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA is mounting a massive regulatory effort aimed at limiting youth access to tobacco products.
FDA Commissioner David Kessler has called smoking ``a pediatric disease'' and last year issued proposed regulations that would eliminate cigarette vending machines, restrict print advertising and clamp down on retail sales to children.
LENGTH: Short : 30 linesby CNB