i want to show a photo here of a young man named gruen von barons. he's an oral cancer survivor. he's had more than 40 surgeries to save his life, including one radical surgery, and you can see how it left him in this picture. it removed half his neck muscles and lymph nodes and half of his tongue. like too many teenagers, he first tried spit tobacco at age 13 to fit in. by age 17 he was diagnosed with cancer. how can we let this happen. the tobacco is targeting our children, and it's our job to protect them. this legislation is vital to our children and to our nation's health. it will prevent the tobacco companies from marketing to children. it will require disclosure of the contents of tobacco products, authorize the f.d.a. to require the reduction and removal of harmful ingredients and force tobacco companies to scientifically prove any claims about reduced risk of products. the f.d.a. is the proper place to have this authority. it's responsible for protecting consumers from products that cause them harm. the f.d.a. even regulates pet food, yet it doesn't have the authority to