An editorial in the Daytona Beach News-Journal is pretty direct in making its point. "It boggles the imagination that the FDA can pull a drug like Celebrex after it is linked to 10 deaths, but lacks the power to mitigate the hazards of tobacco."
According to the editorial, a number of laws being considered on Capitol Hill would transfer oversight of tobacco products to the Food and Drug Administration. Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and John Cornyn (R-TX) and Congressmen Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Tom Davis (R-VA) introduced similar bills back in February.
The legislation now being considered seeks to eliminate any possibility that FDA jurisdiction could be overturned in court. Back in 1996, the FDA asserted it had the responsibility to regulate tobacco under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Tobacco companies sued the government and won a case before the Supreme Court, which ruled Congress needed to enact legislation that specifically charged the FDA with regulating tobacco before it could do so.
If proposed legislation were passed, tobacco companies would be required to provide a great deal more detail on tests regarding new products while likely having to provide more detailed information on the risks associated with the consumption of the product.
Legislation that would move authority to regulate tobacco to the FDA has been strongly endorsed by a number of health organizations including the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and others.
Interestingly, Altria also supports the Kennedy/Cornyn and Waxman/Davis bills. The other tobacco companies do not.
Discussion Questions: Should oversight for tobacco reside at the Food and Drug Administration instead of the Department of Agriculture? How would you expect such a move to affect sales of tobacco products at retail?