http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090612/D98OQ0CG0.html ========== "This is a bill that will protect children and will protect America," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a leading supporter. "Every day that we don't act, 3,500 American kids - children - will light up for the first time. That is enough to fill 70 school buses." The Congressional Budget Office estimated that FDA regulation could reduce underage smoking by 11 percent over the next decade. The bill, said American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown, "provides a tremendous opportunity to finally hold tobacco companies accountable and restrict efforts to addict more children and adults." Costs of the new program would be paid for through a fee imposed on tobacco companies. =========== This is not a shakedown, it's an offer you can't refuse, see it's a law, you don't want to argue about a law, do you? And who will pay for those "fees forced on tobacco companies"? Of course no citation for the statistics either from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a leading supporter. Just remember it's not about the money, no really, not about the money...