ENZI INVITES “TOBACCO-FREE KIDS” CEO TO DISCUSS SERIOUS EFFORT TO WIPE OUT TOBACCO

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today responded to criticisms from the President of “Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids” by inviting him to discuss the Enzi proposal to use a cap-and-trade program to shrink the of the tobacco market and save lives by cutting tobacco use. Enzi offered the legislation as an alternative to a Democrat proposal strongly supported by Big Tobacco and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “I would like to invite you, as one of the nation's premier groups that is ostensibly interested in eliminating the scourge of tobacco, to meet with me to discuss how we can work together towards our shared goal: eliminating youth smoking and tobacco product use and significantly reducing the number of Americans who are dying from the use of tobacco products,” Enzi wrote today in a letter to Matthew Myers, President and CEO of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Last week, Enzi introduced the “Help End Addiction to Lethal Tobacco Habits Act” (HEALTH Act), S.1834, a bill to wipe out tobacco use in America through an innovative cap-and-trade program that will shrink the of the tobacco market by 90 percent over the next 20 years. The Enzi proposal would also close loopholes in the law that tobacco companies have exploited and enjoyed for far too long. It would use proven approaches to help people stop using tobacco products and implement tried and true prevention programs. “You recently made some comments about my record and my position on various issues relating to tobacco. You claimed to know where I stand on these matters,” Enzi wrote. “A meeting between us would give me an opportunity to personally set the record straight and let you know where I stand on smoking and other related tobacco issues. I have put my name, and staked my reputation, on a proposal to get rid of tobacco once and for all, and I hope you will take that as seriously as I do.”