HEALTH

INTERNATIONAL LUNG DISEASE RATES STUDIED Washington, Feb. 14, 1994. Chronic obstructive lung disease--linked by researchers primarily to smoking-- is the fifth leading cause of death in the industrialized world, according to the most comprehensive report on international death rates ever done by the National Center for Health Statistics.

In the US, women's death rates from lung cancer are the highest of the 20 countries studied, while men's rates have leveled off, which researchers ascribed to the decline in men's smoking rates.

COLORECTAL POLYPS & SMOKING & DRINKING

Houston, TX Feb. 14, 1995. People who both smoked and drank were found to have a whopping 321% higher chance of having colorectal polyps after the age of 34, according to a study at the University of Texas at Houston. A surprising twist: people who only smoked, or only drank, did not appear to have a statistically significantly higher risk.

DRUG ABUSE COSTS, SO MAKE ABUSERS PAY FED, REPORT SAYS Smokers, along with users of addictive drugs, will cost the Federal Treasury $77.6 billion this year, nearly 20% of the total spent on Medicaid, Medicare and other federal health and welfare programs, according to a study released by the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.

The study recommends that the government should follow the lead of private health plans and charge higher fees to substance abusers.

CASA head Joe Califano said, "If Speaker Gingrich and President Clinton are looking for a way to deal with the spiraling costs of entitlements without cutting benefits, raising taxes or dumping the problem on the states, then they must face up to the epidemic of tobacco, alcohol and drug abuse and addiction."

"If we want to move people from welfare to work, we must first address a crippling stumbling block for many thousands -- their substance abuse and addiction -- by providing adequate funding."

"To help reduce costs over the long term, Medicare should charge higher premiums for beneficiaries who smoke cigarettes . . . The impact of substance abuse and addiction on federal entitlements is equivalent to more than 40 percent of the federal deficit for 1995."

The study said that "of all the substances, tobacco takes the greatest financial toll on health and disability entitlement spending. In 1995, the Social Security disability system will pay $4.6 billion ... to individuals disabled as a result of smoking-related diseases."

REGULATORY HALT PASSES HOUSE COMMITTEE

Washington. Feb. 13, 1995. A measure that would halt all government regulatory activity--including OSHA's investigation of the hazards of workplace smoking, the FDA's investigation into the addictiveness of nicotine, and implementation of the Synar child access rule--by the Government Reform and Oversight Committee. The vote was 28-13.

The moratorium would extend to Dec. 31, 1995, by which time Republicans hope to have changed many governmental processes.

Committee Chairman Rep. William Clinger (R-PA) said, "Establishing a moratorium is an appropriate reaction to the federal regulatory factory that churns out too many expensive regulations."

FDA UNDER ATTACK February, 1995. In a series of ads and press releases, a coalition of conservative groups have made it plain that the FDA heads the list of regulatory agencies they would like to see completely revamped or even eliminated.

--House Speaker Newt Gingrich has called the FDA "the leading job-killer in America," and has referred to FDA head David Kessler as a "terrorist" and a "thug."

--A Gingrich-spawned conservative think tank, the Progress and Freedom Foundation has announced a plan, to be drafted by June, to replace the FDA.

--The Washington Legal Foundation placed an ad last month which read, "If a murderer kills you, it's homicide. If a drunk driver kills you, it's manslaughter. If the FDA kills you, it's just being cautious."

--The Competitive Enterprise Institute, has suggested that all drugs and devices be sold whatever the outcome.

--The Citizens for a Sound Economy recommend the corporations it regulates take over the agency's duties.

While the agency has been criticized in the past for slow approval of drugs and medical devices and pharmaceutical and medical supply companies have pushed for reform, conservative groups appear to resent its very existence.

Traditional critics appear uneasy with the conservative agenda. A Merck & Co. spokesperson said, "The tenets FDA enforces, and we live by, ought to remain in place," she said. The problem with the agency is managerial, not fundamental."

And Health Industry Manufacturers' Association head Alan Magazine, who has long criticized the FDA, said a part of America's reputation for superior products rests in the US's regulatory system. "We are for a strong FDA. They are our credibility."

The FDA helps assure unsafe drugs don't reach the market. An international survey by a frequent FDA critic, the Public Citizen's Health Research Group, found that of 56 drugs that had to be recalled because of injury or death, only 9 had been released in the US, whereas 31 had been released in France, 30 in Germany, and 23 in Britain.

Anti-smoking groups consider the attack on the FDA the most dire threat to tobacco regulation, and are urging sympathizers to contact the president, their legislators, and the FDA itself to express support.

HR 450 PASSES Washington, Feb. 13, 1995. The Government Reform and Oversight Committee passed H.R. 450, the regulatory moratorium that would halt all Federal regulatory activity until Dec. 31, 1995. Voting essentially followed party lines, although Representative Connie Morella (R-MD) broke ranks with fellow Republicans and voted against the bill.

The bill now goes to the House floor for a scheduled Feb. 23 vote.

LOCAL

VA: ANTI-LOBBYIST LAW PASSES SENATE Richmond, VA. Feb. 17, 1995. The Virginia Senate has passed a bill that would bar politicians from accepting campaign contributions from the "sin" industries--tobacco, beer and wine, and gambling.

The bill now goes to the House of Delegates.

NC: PARENTS CAN OK SCHOOL SMOKING Feb. 13, 1995. USA today reports that students at Smithfield-Selma High School can smoke at school, if they have a note from their parents.

IN: FUROR OVER CHILD ACCESS LAW Indianapolis, IN. Feb, 1995. Indiana seems to be facing a similar situation to that California faced last November: a child-access tobacco law has been introduced to the legislature that critics claim is a Trojan Horse which in reality would gut enforcement of present child access laws.

Senate Bill 595 would

--Preempt local laws, and prevent localities from regulating the sale, distribution or promotion of tobacco products.

--Establish cigarette vending machine placement restrictions that would invalidate the present law which forbids placement where minors could access them.

--Allow friends and family to give children tobacco products.

--Require sting operations to be conducted without the use of underage buyers.

The bill is opposed by Governor Evan Bayh, local governments and health organizations.

It is being championed by retailers, grocery and liquor stores, and restaurant and bar owners.