. >> dr. myers, according to the council of government's annual report on crime, this region's non-violent crime rate but rape, assault and homicide rates continue to climb. what are you seeing? >> well, we are very concerned about local violence, although from 2010 we understand that it is down slightly here in the district of columbia, we're glad to see that. but every day when you turn on news you see another shooting, another incident, another tragedy. this is why we are calling on citizens in the greater washington, d.c. area and around the country to find a way to fix this. we know that there are other countries in the world that don't suffer the kind of violence that we have here. so they're doing something we're not. we know even in the mayor's city of alexandria, if they have three murders a year, they consider that to be a lot. so there is a new way we must approach these issues. i would thank the mayor for the psa he did. and also mayor uhl. >> is the city of chicago involved. >> the city

dr. tanski. now mr. mathew myers. >> i am president of the campaign for tobacco free kids. mr. chairman, minority members thune, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity. we worked with you for a decade to help pass the law giving the food and drug administration the authority over cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and all other tobacco products precisely to address many of the concerns, mr. chairman you raised today. over the last several years we have seen a dramatic growth in the marketing and sale of e-cigarettes. despite the rise in the use of e-cigarettes as you correctly noted, liz oil is proven eager about their health effects or their population impact. our core position is that responsibly marketed and properly regulated, e-cigarettes could benefit public health if in fact they helped people switched off of cigarettes to either the exclusive use of e-cigarettes or use of nicotine altogether. but e-cigarettes pose a particular health risk to the public. if they're not used by smokers or other tobacco users, or glamorize smoking in the eyes of children or dis