Cool, Refreshing Legislation for Philip Morris.

[Q3JR4]

Cool, Refreshing Legislation for Philip Morris
Why it’s politically impossible to ban menthol cigarettes, even if they’re the most addictive.
By Paul Smalera

<snip>

"It is a dream come true for Philip Morris," Michael Siegel, a professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, told me. "First, they make it look like they are a reformed company which really cares about reducing the toll of cigarettes and protecting the public's health; and second, they protect their domination of the market and make it impossible for potentially competitive products to enter the market." Other tobacco companies have taken to calling the bill the "Marlboro Monopoly Act of 2009."

<snip>

"Don't let perfect be the enemy of good," has been the old saw the administration uses to admonish interest groups dissatisfied with compromise legislation. But opponents of this bill on both sides are asking, What's the enemy of terrible? Isn't it this bill, which is racist <30% of African Americans smoke menthols because it was directly marketed to them>, protectionist , cynical, and misguided? And barring an improbable veto, it will soon become law . Nowhere is the bill's perfidy more obvious than in its failure to ban menthol cigarettes.

The National African American Tobacco Prevention Network released a statement on the bill last May that read, "Tobacco legislation that treats menthol differently from other flavoring additives is incomplete." This is in response to studies showing that menthols are far more addictive then other cigarettes and far harder to quit, no matter what race the smoker is.

<snip>

Ten of the remaining, nonsponsoring CBC members hail from tobacco-producing states that oppose the bill primarily because it puts their home-state tobacco companies at a huge disadvantage to Philip Morris. That leaves 12 African-American Members of Congress who withheld their names from the bill, despite menthol cigarettes' being linked to 14.6 percent of all African-American deaths in 2006. And there are, of course, 217 other co-sponsors, mostly white, ignoring the fact that despite menthol's cultural identification with 4 million African-Americans, double that number of white smokers also partake in the minty tobacco.

Way more at http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/judgments/2009/06/08/cool-refreshing-legislation-philip-morris?page=full">link.

An update to this article, which was postedJune 8 of this year, follows:
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On September 22, 2009 a ban on cigarettes containing certain characterizing flavors went into effect. The ban, authorized by the new Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, is part of a national effort by FDA to reduce smoking in America.

FDA’s ban on candy and fruit-flavored cigarettes highlights the importance of reducing the number of children who start to smoke, and who become addicted to dangerous tobacco products. FDA is also examining options for regulating both menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco products other than cigarettes.

According to the act

…a cigarette or any of its component parts (including the tobacco, filter, or paper) shall not contain, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or coffee, that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke

Any company who continues to make, ship or sell such products may be subject to FDA enforcement actions. You are encouraged to report any company that sells cigarettes with these certain characterizing flavors.

http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/FlavoredTobacco/default.htm

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The preceding was just for your consideration.

Q3JR4

[sui generis]

1. this is the most absurd stupidity the FDA has ever done

besides scheduling hootch. Social engineering - what a bunch of dumb fucks. If you don't want to be addicted to food, don't get the FDA to make food illegal.

Oh, you mean DRUGS / CIGARETTES. Because FOOD isn't addictive. So we can't sell banana flavored cigarettes to adults because some stupid teenager might get hooked, and YET the FDA isn't doing a GOD DAMN THING about fruit loops? There are millions more jowly flabby fat assed brats out there going to grow up into helpless adults than there are teenagers smoking banana flavored cigarettes.

It's a mad, mad world we live in. This is your tax dollar at work, taking care of the important things. :eyes:

Retarded.

[Chulanowa]

2. I've seen a lot of idiotic legislation before...

This is a whole new level.