FDA legislation

In the United States and much of the world cigarettes and other tobacco products remain largely free from meaningful regulation. No national agency currently regulates the manufacture, marketing or sale of tobacco products. The tobacco industry has long taken advantage of the absence of regulation to hide the truth about the health effects of their products; manipulate the levels of toxic constituents and nicotine in its products; deceive consumers about so called reduced risk products; and engage in marketing that is deceptive and appealing to women, youths and vulnerable populations.

For at least the past 15 years there has been a consensus about the need to fill this gap by giving the US Food and Drug Administration authority over tobacco. Recently, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the President’s Cancer Panel of the US National Cancer Institute both concluded that FDA authority is a critical component of the overall tobacco control effort.

Earlier this year legislation drafted by Senator Ted Kennedy and Congressman Henry Waxman was introduced to give the FDA such authority. Despite the vocal opposition of a few, never before has a single legislative proposal been supported by a broader cross section of the American public health community. This legislation is supported by 63 major American health organisations and more than 300 state and local health organisations. It is also sponsored by all of the members of Congress who have been the longest, strongest and most thoughtful tobacco control public …