I am so proud of my President. Today he signed a bill into law that will give the FDA power to regulate what ingredients go into cigarettes, how much of the ingredients are used, and also how they (cigarettes and other tobacco products) are marketed. The Family Smoking Prevention Act the president approved gives the US Food and Drug Administration sweeping authority to regulate ingredients in tobacco products, like tar and nicotine, as well as limit advertisements aimed at young people and have final say over new tobacco products. The law, which Congress passed overwhelmingly, also restricts makers of tobacco products from using candy or fruit flavorings in their products and bans them from advertising at sporting or entertainment events.
I am so thankful for this law because smoking (using any tobacco product really) is one of the most unhealthy habits a person can have. It's unattractive as far as personal hygiene goes (your hair and clothes smell like cigarette smoke) and it's deadly. More than 400,000 Americans now die of tobacco-related illnesses each year, making it the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. More than 8 million Americans suffer from at least one serious illness caused by smoking" at a national cost of more than $100 billion a year. President Obama also spoke of his own personal fight to beat the habit stating, "Almost 90 percent of all smokers began at or before their 18th birthday," he said. "I know -- I was one of these teenagers, and so I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it's been with you for a long time."
Getting back to why I am writing this blog in the first place, I am so thankful for all that President Obama has done for society since he's been in office. He's done more for America in his past few months in office than Bush did in an entire eight years as far as laws to help progress society go. Oh yeah, and Obama also announced an offer by drug manufacturers to contribute $80 billion over the next decade to narrow the large gap (or doughnut hole as it's sometimes called) in Medicare prescription drug coverage, a deal the president said moves the nation a step closer to comprehensive health care reform.
"This is a significant breakthrough on the road to health care reform, one that will make the difference in the lives of many older Americans," Obama said as he made the announcement from the White House. He's helping older Americans who depend on help from the Government to be able to buy their medicines get full coverage. That means they won't have to come out of their own pocket thousands of dollars until they reach the $6,100 when Medicare kicks in to cover healthcare costs. Most retired elderly can't afford to get all their medicines and healthcare needs or on a regular basis because of this gap. With big improvements like these, total healthcare reform is a very attainable goal for America.
Also. another bill that President Obama signed on Jan. 29, 2009 (only nine days after being sworn in) that I am very proud of is the the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act. The bill amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 stating that the 180-day statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay lawsuit regarding pay discrimination resets with each new discriminatory paycheck. The President also made it clear that he doesn't think that just because you can't afford healthcare, your child should die (Imagine that! Wow, poor and working class deserve benefits too?!). On February 5, 2009 President Obama signed the bill extending coverage to 4 million more kids. The bill will allow about 7 million children to continue coverage through the State Children's Health Insurance Program and allow an additional 4 million to sign up.
So all the haters out there saying that President Obama isn't worth anything or that he's doing a bad job at helping America, need to stfu. He's doing everything in his power to fix this mess that the American businesses and people made and he's made great progress. If you're such genius hot shit then where's your fucking proposal for fixing the economy? No one can do a better job than he's doing so people need to get behind him and start fully backing their leader because he's a good man and deserves the support of all American people.
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