Proclamation 6850

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

Children are our Nation's most precious resource and most sacred obligation. And all of us-whether parents or guardians, teachers or coaches, ministers or rabbis, friends or government officials-can play a role in nurturing young people and working to ensure their future health and happiness. Our children look to us for guidance, and we must do all we can to provide them with examples of personal responsibility and good citizenship.

Yet, every day, some 3,000 young Americans become regular smokers, falling victim to negative influences and provocative advertisements and putting themselves at risk of the diseases caused by nicotine addiction. Nearly 1,000 of these children will die prematurely, joining the more than 400,000 Americans who lose their lives to tobacco-related illnesses each year. For a country so deeply devoted to the protection of children, such numbers are a national tragedy.

Recognizing the vital need to reverse these devastating statistics, my Administration has proposed measures to limit children's access to tobacco products and to reduce tobacco's appeal. In seeking to protect our children, we join the countless caring citizens who are observing the "Great American Smokeout," a nationwide effort to raise awareness of nicotine addiction and the deadly risks associated with tobacco use. Working together on this day and every day throughout the year, we can create a brighter, healthier future for young Americans.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 16, 1995, as National Great American Smokeout Day. I call upon all Americans to join together in an effort to educate our children about the dangers of tobacco use, and I urge smokers and non-smokers alike to take this opportunity to begin healthier lifestyles that set a positive example for young people.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twentieth.

William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:46 a.m., November 20, 1995]