Proposed Budget Has Extra Funds for FDA Teen Smoking Effort

WASHINGTON--In his budget proposal, President Clinton has asked Congress to appropriate an additional $100 million for the FDA’s youth-tobacco prevention program. If approved, the increase would provide the program $134 million in fiscal year 1999.

Overall, the President proposed $1.264 billion for the FDA, up from $1.077 billion currently. Of this amount, $294.1 million would come from user fees paid by groups regulated by the agency, including pharmaceutical companies.

The FDA’s antitobacco effort, a collaborative program with state and local authorities, seeks to reduce the access of underage users to tobacco products and cut tobacco use by children by 50% within 7 years. The proposal allocates $35 million for compliance outreach, $75 million for enforcement and evaluation, and $24 million for product regulation.