THIS ISN'T A DATED STUDY. THE STUDY CONCLUDED THAT HIGHER TAXES
           HAVE LITTLE EFFECT ON WHETHER YOUNG PEOPLE START TO SMOKE. THEN
           CONCLUDED THAT TAXES ARE NOT AS SALIENT TO YOUTH SMOKING
           DECISIONS AS ARE INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FAMILY
           BACKGROUND. "WE FIND LITTLE EVIDENCE THAT TAXES REDUCE SMOKING
           ONSET BETWEEN 8TH AND12TH GRADES AND ESTIMATED THAT $1.50 WOULD
           DECREASE THE RATE OF MOGADISHU NG ONSET BY 2% POINTS FROM 1.6

           OF 12TH GRADER TO 189.6 OF
           
           12TH GRADERS: OUR DATA ALLOW TO US DIRECTLY EXAMINE THE IMPACT
           OF CHANGES IN TAX RATES ON YOUTH SMOKING BEHAVIOR AND ARE
           PRELIMINARY RESULTS INDICATE THIS IMPACT IS SMALL OR
           NONEXISTENT." HERE IS THE BEST DATA WE HAVE GOT, THE MOST
           RECENT STUDIES INDICATE THAT A MASSIVE INCREASE OF THREE
           QUARTERS OF A TRILLION DOLLARS PLUS ON THE TAXES OF THE
           AMERICAN PEOPLE WILL HAVE A LITTLE IMPACT OR A NONEXISTENT
           IMPACT IN REDUCING YOUTH SMOKING. IN CONCLUSION THE ECONOMISTS

           STATED THE STUDY "RAISES DOUBT ABOUT THE CLAIM THAT TAX OR
           PRICE INCREASE KS SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCE YOUTH SMOKING." IN
           MARYLAND, SIMILAR STUDY CONCERNING MORE THAN 250,000 HIGH
           SCHOOL SENIORS, LARGEST STUDY EVER DONE, THEY FOUND THAT THE
           RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRICE AND YOUTH CONSUMPTION IS
           SUBSTANTIALLY SMALLER THAN SUGGESTED BY PREVIOUS STUDIES. REAL
           WORLD EXPERIENCE CONFIRMS THE SAME. IN 1989, CALIFORNIA
           INCREASED ITS CIGARETTE EXCISE TAX BY 25 CENTS PER PACK BUT
           THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE THAT YOUTH SMOKING DECLINED WITH A 25

           CENT PER PACK INCREASE. WE ARE OPERATING UNDER THE ASSUMPTION
           THAT 25 CENTS A PACK WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN A 16% OR MORE DID
           HE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF YOUTH SMOKERS. WELL THE TRUTH OF
           THE MATTER WAS THERE IS AN 11% DID HE INCREASE. EF COLLEAGUES.
           THERE FEAR THE ANALYSIS IS .07 THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A
           DECREASE OF SUBSTANTIAL PROPORTIONS. AS A RESULT -- HOWEVER, AS
           OF 1994, RESEARCHERS WERE UNABLE TO IDENTIFY A DECLINE IN THE
           PREVALENCE OF SMOKING BETWEEN 16 AND 18 YEARS OLD ASSOCIATED

           WITH THE IMPOSITION OF AN EXCISE TAX IN CALIFORNIA. CANADA,
           SIMILAR RESULTS. I DON'T HAVE TIME TO GO THROUGH ALL THESE
           MATTERS. I WOULD JUST INDICATE THIS, THAT IN CANADA, IN GREAT
           BRITAIN, THE CORNELL STUDY, THE MARYLAND UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
           STUDY, SITUATION IN CALIFORNIA, WE DON'T HAVE A CLEAR
           UNDERSTANDING THAT AN INCREASE IN TAS WOULD IN FACT RESULT IN A
           DECREASE IN YOUTH SMOKING. IT IS WITH THAT IN MIND THAT I FEEL
           THAT WE SHOULD REJECT THIS BILL AS A MASSIVE TAX INCREASE, AND

           IF THERE IS A MASSIVE TAX INCREASE IN THIS BILL THAT THAT TAX
           INCREASE SHOULD BE SENT BACK TO THOSE WHO ARE MOST HURT BY IT,
           LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS BY ELIMINATING A MARRIAGE PENALTY BY
           DOUBLING THE STANDARD DEDUCTION AVAILABLE TO THOSE FAMILIES WHO
           TAKE THE STANDARD DEDUCTION -- NOT DOUBLING, BUT MAKE
           TECHNOLOGY EQUIVALENT TO THE STANDARD DEDUCT WHICH WOULD BE
           AVAILABLE IF THOSE PEOPLE REMAINED SINGLE. I THANK THE CHAIR
           FOR THE TIME. I YIELD THE FLOOR.
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR FROM ILLINOIS IS RECOGNIZED
           FOR 30 MINUTES.
           

           MR. DURBIN: I THANK THE PRESIDENT. I AM HAPPY TO STAND THIS
           MORNING IN SUPPORT OF THE PENDING AMENDMENT BEFORE THE UNITED
           STATES SENATE TO THIS TOBACCO LEGISLATION. IT IS AN AMENDMENT
           THAT IS OFFERED, RATHER, BY SENATOR DEWINE, A REPUBLICAN OF
           OHIO, AND MYSELF. A BIPARTISAN EFFORT TO MAKE THIS IMPORTANT
           BILL MORE EFFECTIVE. I WOULD LIKE TO MAUS FOR A MOMENT BEFORE
           ADDRESSING THAT AMENDMENT AND TO SPEAK TO THE HISTORICAL
           SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS DEBATE. ABOUT 11 YEARS AGO, I WAS INVOLVED

           IN A STRUGGLE AS A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO
           PASS ONE OF THE FIRST TOBACCO CONTROL BILLS EVER CONSIDERED BY
           THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. IN COMPARISON TO THIS BILL, OURS
           WAS A VERY MODEST MEASURE. WE WERE SETTING OUT TO ACHIEVE
           SOMETHING WHICH ON ITS FACE SEEMED SENSIBLE BUT TURNED OUT TO
           BE POLITICALLY VERY DIFFICULT. WHAT WE WANTED TO ACHIEVE 11
           YEARS AGO WAS TO BAN SMOKING ON AIRPLANES. YOU WOULD HAVE
           THOUGHT THAT WE WERE PROPOSING A SECOND AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

           THE TOBACCO LOBBY ORGANIZED ITS EFFORTS, FOUND ALL OF ITS
           FRIEND BOTH DEMOCRAT AND REPUBLICAN, MARSHALED ITS FORCES TO
           BEAT OUR EFFORT. THEY PREDICT THAD WHAT WE WERE SETTING OUT TO
           DO WOULD CREATE CHAOS IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IT WAS TOTALLY
           UPNESS, IT DISCRIMINATED AGAINST THE RIGHTS OF SMOKERS AND ON
           AND ON AND ON. WELL, MR. PRESIDENT, IT WAS OUR GOOD FOR KHUP IN
           THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO HAVE A -- FORTUNE IN THE HOUSE
           OF REPRESENTATIVES TO HAVE A NUMBER OF COLLEAGUES, DEMOCRATS

           AND REPUBLICANS, WHO FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MODERN MEMORY
           REJECTED THESE PLEAS FROM THE TOBACCO LOBBY AND ENACTED
           LEGISLATION -- A LITTLE OVER TEN YEARS AGO -- THAT BANNED
           SMOKING ON AIRPLANE FLIGHTS OF TWO HOURS OR LESS. IT WAS A
           BREAK THROUGH. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THE TOBACCO LOBBY LOST.
           AND THOSE WHO JOINED ME IN THAT EFFORT STUCK THEIR NECKS OUT
           POLITICALLY. IT WASN'T CONSIDERED TO BE VERY SMART POLITICS TO
           OPPOSE TOBACCO. THIS IN FACT WAS THE LARGEST MOST POWERFUL MOST

           WELL-FUNDED LOBBY IN WASHINGTON. FORTUNATE FOR US, SENATOR
           FRANK LAUTENBERG OF NEW JERSEY AND HIS FRIENDS ON THE SENATE
           SIDE JOINED US IN THE BATTLE AND TOGETHER WE SUCCESSFULLY
           ACHIEVED OUR GOAL. TODAY, VIRTUALLY ALL AIRLINE FLIGHTS, AND I
           THINK IN FACT ALL OF THEM, ARE SMOKE-FREE. IT IS NOW BECOMING A
           TREND WORLDWIDE. THAT BATTLE AND THAT VICTORY I THINK SET THE
           STAGE FOR WHERE WE ARE TODAY. ALBEIT A SMALL VICTORY IN
           COMPARISON TO OUR GOAL IN THIS DEBATE. BUT IT IS -- IT WOULD

           HAVE BEEN UNIMAGINABLE 10 YEARS OR 11 YEARS AGO TO THINK TODAY
           IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE, WE ARE DEBATING A BILL INVOLVING
           TOBACCO AND HEALTH OF THE MAGNITUDE OF THE MCCAIN BILL WHICH
           COMES BEFORE US. JOHN MCCAIN IF, AS A REMINDER, IS OUR
           REPUBLICAN COLLEAGUE FROM THE STATE OF ARIZONA. I ADMIRE HIS
           GRIT AND DETERMINATION IN BRINGING THIS BILL TO THE FLOOR
           DESPITE A LOT OF OPPOSITION, PRIMARILY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY FROM
           HIS OWN SIDE OF THE AISLE. AND WHEN YOU THINK IN TERMS OF WHAT

           WE ARE SETTING OUT TO ACHIEVE, IT IS SUBSTANTIAL. IT IS
           REVOLUTIONARY. AND IT IS LONG OVERDUE.
           
           OUR GOALS ARE SIMPLE: REDUCE TEEN SMOKING, INVEST IN PUBLIC
           HEALTH RESEARCH AND PROGRAMS TO HELP SMOKERS QUIT, AND PROTECT
           TOBACCO FARMERS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES. THE FOCUS ON CHILDREN IS
           A GOOD ONE AND AN IMPORTANT ONE, BECAUSE TOBACCO COMPANIES HAVE
           NEEDED THESE CHILDREN, DESPERATELY. EACH YEAR THEY HAVE TO

           RECRUIT MILLIONS OF CHILDREN TO REPLACE THOSE WHO ARE BREAKING
           THE HABIT AND THOSE WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY. THEY SET OUT THIS NET
           AND STRETCH OUT FOR MILLIONS AND BRING IN THOUSANDS BUT THEY
           KEEP REPLEN SHING THE RANKS. 89% OF ALL PEOPLE WHO  EVER TRY A
           CIGARETTE, TRY BY THE AGE OF 18. OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE EVER SMOKED
           DAILY, 71% WERE SMOKING DAILY BY AGE 18. VIRTUALLY NO ONE

           STARTS SMOKING DURING ADULTHOOD. IT IS A CHILDISH DECISION. IT
           BECOMES A CHILDISH HABIT, AND IT CONDEMNS THOSE WHO FALL INTO
           THE LURE OF THIS NICOTINE ADDICTION THE LIKELIHOOD OF THAT
           SHORT END LIFE AND MORE EXPOSURE TO DISEASE. THIS MCCAIN BILL
           NOT ONLY SETS SETS OUT TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF TEEN SMOKERS,
           BUT IT ALSO SETS OUT TO INVEST MORE IN MEDICAL RESEARCH. WHEN I
           HEARD MY COLLEAGUE FROM MISSOURI DECRYING THIS BILL AND TALKING

           ABOUT THIS WASTE OF TAX DOLLARS BEING BROUGHT INTO OUR
           TREASURY, I PAUSED AND THOUGHT THAT WE CAN ARGUE AND I WILL IN
           THE COURSE OF MY REMARK, THAT RAISING THE PRICE OF THE PRODUCT
           IS GOING TO DISCOURAGE CHILDREN FROM USING IT, AS WELL AS
           OTHERS. BUT ALSO THE MONEY THAT IS COMING IN AS PART OF THIS
           BILL IS GOING TO BE INVESTED BACK IN AMERICA. I WOULD STAND BY
           THE RESULTS OF A NATIONAL REFERENDUM ON
           
           THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: SHOULD WE INCREASE THE FEDERAL TAX ON A
           PACKAGE OF CIGARETTES AND THEN TAKE A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF

           THE MONEY RAISED AND PUT IT IN MEDICAL RESEARCH?
           SEND IT TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH FOR RESEARCH TO
           FIND CURES FOR CANCER, HEART DISEASE, AIDS, JUVENILE DIABETES,
           ALZHEIMER'S AND THE MYRIAD OF MEDICAL PROBLEMS THAT WE FACE IN
           THIS COUNTRY. AND I WILL BET THAT THE RESULTS WOULD BE
           OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE, BECAUSE AMERICANS BELIEVE IN THIS
           INVESTMENT. AMERICANS BELIEVE THAT THIS BILL IN PROVIDING MONEY

           FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH INVESTMENT IS MONEY WELL SPENT. SMOKING
           CESSATION PROGRAMS ARE PART OF IT TOO. I THINK THAT'S SENSIBLE.
           MY FATHER WAS A LIFE-LONG SMOKER, WHO WAS A VICTIM OF LUNG SCAN
           KERR AND DIED IN HIS EARLY 50'S, AND I SAW AFTER HIS DIAGNOSIS
           THE SITUATION HE FACED, THE CRAVING THAT HE HAD FOR THIS DEADLY
           CIGARETTE THAT HAD CAUSED HIM SO MANY HEALTH PROBLEMS. AND I
           HAVE ALWAYS HAD A SENSITIVITY AND A SYMPATHY FOR SMOKERS WHO
           WERE TRYING TO QUIT. FOR SOME THEY CAN JUST LITERALLY WALK AWAY

           FROM IT. DECIDE IN A MINUTE THAT TOMORROW THEY WILL NEVER SMOKE
           ANOTHER CIGARETTE. BUT FOR OTHERS IT IS VIRTUALLY A LIFE-LONG
           STRUGGLE. THE MCCAPE BILL PUTS MONEY INTO SMOKING CESSATION
           PROGRAMS SO THAT SMOKERS NATIONWIDE WILL HAVE THE MEANS TO TURN
           TO TO REDUCE THEIR ADDICTION TO NICOTINE. MY COLLEAGUE FROM
           TENNESSEE, SENATOR FRIST, SMOKE EARLIER ABOUT THE -- SPOKE
           EARLIER ABOUT THE NEED FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH IN THIS AREA, FOR
           BREAKTHROUGHS TO STOP THE ADDICTION. I THINK IT SHOULD BE PART

           OF THIS EFFORT. I SUPPORT IT. WE ARE HOPEFUL THESE BREAK
           THROUGHS WILL MAKE IT -- BREAKTHROUGHS WILL MAKE IT EASIER FOR
           PEOPLE TO STOP THIS ADDICTION TO NICOTINE. ANOTHER PORTION OF
           THE BILL PROTECTS TOBACCO FARMERS AND THEIR FAMILIES. I NEVER
           HAVE HAD ANY CRUSADE AGAINST THE TOBACCO FARMERS. I UNDERSTAND
           THE DEVASTATION IN THE HEALTH THAT THEIR CROP CAN CAUSE, BUT I
           HAVE ALWAYS FELT THAT THEY DESERVE TO FIND A CHANCE TO FIND
           ANOTHER LIVELIHOOD. THIS BILL GIVES THEM THAT CHANCE. THAT'S
           WHY I SUPPORT IT. LET'S ME SPEAK TO THE AMENDMENT THAT'S BEFORE

           US. THE DURBIN-DEWINE AMENDMENT. IT IS A LOOK-BACK PROVISION.
           NOW WE CAN GIVE ALL THE SPEECHES THAT WE WANT TO GIVE ON THE
           FLOOR OF THE SENATE AND ON THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE DECRYING TEEN
           ADDICTION TO TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND ADDICTION TO NICOTINE. WE CAN
           PASS ALL THE BILLS WE WANT SAYING THAT AS A NATION WE ARE GOING
           TO COME TO GRIPS WITH THIS, AND I AM AFRAID THAT WE WON'T
           ACHIEVE OUR GOAL UNLESS WE ARE VERY SERIOUS AND VERY SPECIFICS.
           IN FACT IN EVERY STATE IN THE NATION IT IS AGAINST THE LAW NOR

           MINORS, UNDER THE AGE OF 18, TO PURCHASE TOBACCO PRODUCTS, AND
           YET CLEARLY THEY DO ON A DAILY AND OVERWHELMING BASIS. SO THE
           ME ENTHMENT OF A LAW HASN'T ACHIEVED OUR GOAL. WHY IS THE
           MCCAIN BILL ANY DIFFERENT?
           IT IS DIFFERENT BECAUSE ONE IMPORTANT FA SET OF THIS BILL IS
           INCLUDED. IT IS THE SO-CALLED "LOOK-BACK PROVISION." THE
           LOOK-BACK PROVISION IS ACCOUNTABILITY. IT IS HONESTY. IT SAYS
           THAT AS THE YEARS GO BY, WE WILL MEASURE THE NUMBER OF TEEN

           SMOKERS IN AMERICA AND IF THAT PERCENTAGE DOES NOT COME DOWN,
           THE TOBACCO COMPANIES AND TOBACCO INDUSTRY WILL BE HELD
           ACCOUNTABLE IN TERMS OF FINES, IN TERMS OF FIEFS THAT NEED TO
           BE PAID AS THEY MISS THESE TARGETS. THAT ACCOUNTABILITY BRINGS
           REALITY TO THIS DEBATE. WE CAN HAVE THE HIGHEST FLYING
           SPEECHES, THE MOST VOLUMINOUS RELATE RICK, AND YET WE WON'T
           ACHIEVE -- RHETORIC, AND YET WE WON'T ACHIEVE OUR GOALS, UNLESS

           WE ARE SPECIFIC. IS THIS A MATTER THAT SHOULD CONCERN US?
           THIS IS CONSIDER THIS CHART WHICH IS HAS TROUBLING COMMENTARY
           ON WHAT IS HAPPENING IN AMERICA'S. THIS CHART SHORES THE
           PERCENTAGE OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO CURRENTLY SMOKE
           CIGARETTES. LOOK, FROM 1991, TO 1997, IN EVERY GRADE, 9TH,
           10TH, 11TH AND 12TH, ACROSS AMERICA, THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASE
           IN THE NUMBER OF THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO ARE SMOKING. IN
           FACT THE INCREASE OVER THE LAST YEAR HAS BEEN 30%. WHILE WE

           HAVE GIVEN ALL THESE SPEECHES WHILE WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS
           PROBLEM WHILE THE PRESIDENT, THE VICE PRESIDENT, THE SECRETARY
           OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND SO MANY OTHERS HAVE ADDRESSED
           IT, WE HAVE IN FACT SEEN THE CHILDREN OF AMERICA IGNORING IT.
           THEY HAVE TAKEN UP THIS HABIT. AND AS THEY TAKE IT UP, MORE AND
           MORE KIDS ARE VULNERABLE. FOR THOSE WHO DO NOT THINK THIS IS A
           REAL AMERICAN FAMILY ISSUE, I POSE ONE QUESTION WHICH I ALWAYS
           POSE IN THIS
           
           DEBATE: HAVE YOU EVER MET A MOTHER OR FATHER WHO CAME TO YOU AT

           WORK SOME MORNING AND WITH GREAT PRIDE AND A SMILE ON THEIR
           NAYS SAID, "WE HAVE GREAT NEWS AT HOME. OUR DAUGHTER CAME HOME
           LAST NIGHT AND SHE STARTED SMOKING." NOW I'VE NEVER HEARD THAT.
           IN FACT, JUST THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE. PARENTS WHO SUSPECT THEIR
           KIDS HAVE STARTED SMOKING ARE WORRIED. THEY UNDERSTAND THE
           DANGER. THEN UNDERSTAND THE ADDICTION. AND THEY UNDERSTAND
           BETTER THAN MOST WHY THIS DEBATE IS SO CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.
           SOME ARGUMENT IS MADE AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THE INCREASE IN THE

           PRICE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS WILL REDUCE USAGE BY CHILDREN. THE
           SENATOR FROM MISSOURI WHO SPOKE BEFORE ME TALKED ABOUT SURVEYS
           THAT CAME TO AN OPPOSITE KUKS. I WOULD POINT TO TWO THAT
           CONFIRM THE BELIEF IN THIS BILL THAT IF YOU RAISE THE PRICE OF
           THE PRODU, CHILDREN ARE LESS LIKELY TO USE IT.
{END: 1998/06/04 TIME: 11-00 , Thu.  105TH SENATE, SECOND SESSION}