Proclamation 6700

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

As this great country moves forward in its commitment to address the many concerns related to the delivery of health care, we set aside this week to give special attention to those issues that affect the health of American men. We have made enormous progress in medical technology and research, yet the goal of extending human life expectancy will not be fully realized until information on prevention, detection, and treatment of disease reaches all men and is used by all men.

Tobacco use is the single most important preventable cause of death in the United States, and currently 24 million American men smoke. It is a major risk factor for diseases of the heart and lungs and doubles the risk of stroke among men. The risk of dying from lung cancer is 22 times higher for men who smoke. Those who continue to smoke place themselves and those around them at great peril. It is imperative for this country to focus its efforts on eliminating the use of tobacco products through education and treatment programs.

In the past decade, public awareness has also been increased regarding the dangers of alcohol consumption and its impact on the health of American men. Alcohol abuse is, more frequently than not, a related factor in motor vehicle fatalities, homicides, and suicides. It is becoming a special problem for the young men in this country. Let us not falter in our progress-the time has come for us to demand better access to treatment programs, stronger and better enforced laws related to drunk driving, policies to reduce minors' access to alcohol, and greater involvement of primary care providers in dealing with this problem.

Among older men, prostate cancer is a serious enemy. It is estimated that in 1994, in America alone, prostate cancer will affect 200,000 men, and 38,000 will die. Prostate cancer strikes men almost as often as breast cancer strikes women, yet reluctance to discuss this disease has left its research largely under funded. However, what we do know gives us hope. In addition to physical detection, doctors can now use a blood test to determine the presence of this cancer. Furthermore, there are several available forms of effective treatment. We must ensure that all men over the age of 50 have access to screening for and treatment of this disease, while we simultaneously push for affordable medical care for all Americans.

Even in the face of better, more accessible detection and prevention programs, we need men to recognize and adopt healthier lifestyles. No health care policy can replace the benefits that American men would reap from this change.

The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 179, has designated the week of June 12 through June 19, 1994, as "National Men's Health Week" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this week.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of June 12, 1994, as National Men's Health Week. I invite the Governors of the 50 States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, and the appropriate officials of all other areas under the American flag to issue similar proclamations. I also ask health care professionals, private industry, community groups, insurance companies, and all other interested organizations and individual citizens to unite to publicly reaffirm our Nation's continuing commitment to men's health.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighteenth.

William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 3:36 p.m., June 13, 1994]