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Congress Sends Obama Legislation on Regulating Tobacco 

Rep. Howard Coble , R-N.C., whose district is home to thousands of farmers and factory workers who depend on tobacco for their livelihoods, assailed the legislation.

“Allowing the FDA to regulate tobacco in any fashion inevitably will lead to FDA regulating the family farm,” he warned.

The bill, declared Rep. Virginia Foxx , R-N.C., is “emblematic of the attempt by the majority party to control every aspect of our lives.”

As in the Senate, advocates of the regulatory bill stressed the health risks of smoking and spoke in often emotional terms of the toll smoking had taken on their families.

“This plague has touched almost everyone,” said Polis.

Rep. Jane Harman , D-Calif., who watched both parents die of smoking-related diseases, said, “It was a nightmare, and one I would spare other families.”

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FDA likely to regulate tobacco: 

The Office of the Surgeon General issued a report [pdf] back in 1964, asserting that tobacco's "potential hazard is great… cigarette smoking contributes substantially to mortality from certain specific diseases and to the overall death rate." But in the intervening years, the $89 billion tobacco industry has eluded strict regulation. Annually, smoking ups U.S. health care costs $100 billion and continues to kill about 400,000.

The bill is on its way to Obama . . .

Local activists praise new federal rules on tobacco  

Local lawmakers and anti-smoking advocates welcomed historic anti-smoking legislation passed by both the Senate and the House on Friday.

"This will be a powerful new tool to cut back on the number of smoke-related deaths," said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, who has long advocated for tougher regulations on tobacco.

Roy Rosell, a San Gabriel Valley activist who has spearheaded anti-smoking efforts in several local cities, said he hopes the legislation will help his cause.

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Smoking appears to be down, but success is uneven 

Major progress has been made in reducing cigarette smoking in the United States, but the success is uneven across the states and below national goals, according to a new report.

The report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation was prepared by researchers in Buffalo and released this week at the National Conference on Tobacco or Health in Phoenix.

"The data show that tobacco control programs save lives but that we need to diffuse them more across the country," said Gary Giovino, chairman of the department of human behavior at the University at Buffalo and principal investigator on the project. . . .

In New York State, the prevalance of smoking among adults remains slightly below the national average. One statistic for the state stands out: Fewer than 14 percent of New York high school students report that they smoke, compared with 20 percent in the United States.

Despite the falling rates of smoking among adults, the report concluded that tobacco use remains far above the goal of the national Healthy People 2010 initiative to reduce prevalence to 12 percent by the end of the decade.

"We need interventions that are relevant to the people who are still smoking," said Giovino.

He and the other authors of "Cigarette Smoking Prevalence and Policies in the 50 States: An Era of Change," concluded that obstacles stand in the way of further reductions in tobacco use.

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BANERJEE: PICTURE IMPERFECT | Injurious to health 

From May 31st , all tobacco products were mandated by government fiat to carry graphic pictorial warnings like the skull and cross bones. These are supposed to effectively convey the dangers of tobacco consumption, especially to illiterate consumers of such products. But do these warnings really work? Research conducted by Martin Lindstrom, brand consultant and author of a bestselling book, shows that these pictures may just have the opposite effect. . . .

Lindstrom could not explain the reason behind the unintended effect of the warning labels, but we will have to see the trends in the sale of tobacco products in India in the coming months to see if the labels have any effect, positive or negative. Meanwhile, some Indian researcher could try a similar study of the effects of watching on-screen smoking in Bollywood movies. This research was part of the burgeoning field of neuromarketing, which uses the tools of neurologists to flesh out consumer preferences. Since it is assumed that 85 per cent of our decisions are made at a subconscious level, such brain-mapping techniques can prove to be far potent for brand managers than traditional focus groups, which relies on the conscious level, with its associated cognitive biases.

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Health Ministry offices to be made smoke-free zone  

All government, semi-government and autonomous organisations would be made smoking-free soon, while all departments under the Health Ministry will be tobacco-free from Sunday.

Prime Minister's Adviser on Health and Family Welfare and Social Welfare Ministry Professor Dr Syed Modasser Ali said this addressing as the chief guest at a policy dialogue titled "Show the truth. Picture Warnings Save Lives."

A non-government organisation organized the dialogue in cooperation with World Health Organization (WHO) here on Wednesday marking the 'World No Tobacco Day-2009'.

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Locals weigh in on smoking legislation  

But while taking time out for a smoke break in Friday afternoon's sweltering heat, she said that in many respects she supports legislation that -- if signed into law -- would give the Food and Drug Administration more power to regulate the tobacco industry.

The anticipated changes are especially keyed to stop younger people from lighting up, and Black said that in her opinion, children "shouldn't have the opportunity" to start smoking.

"It's too late for me," she said. "But it's something they do need to put a stop to."

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, expected to be signed soon by President Obama, will give the FDA authority to regulate the production, contents, marketing and sale of tobacco products.

Donna Taylor, who owns Smokin Jo's Discount Tobacco in Abilene, said she wasn't certain the legislation would deter young people from smoking, though she had no problem with the goal.

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Be Careful What You Wish For 

What does the government do to industries it gets control of? It runs them into the ground, it destroys them. And the danger of running the tobacco industry into the ground is it's one of the greatest sources of tax revenue for the federal government and states. . . .

if they succeed in this, which is what they publicly profess their interest is, is in getting as many people to quit as possible, do you realize what's going to happen to tax revenue? It's going to plummet. They're going to have to make it up somewhere and then all of you who don't smoke and all of you who are happy that this somehow is going to improve the health circumstances in America are going to be anteing up to make up the difference. So be careful what you wish for.

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TN Senators Split Vote On FDA Overseeing Tobacco Products 

Sen. Bob Corker voted on Thursday in favor of legislation authorizing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee the production and sale of tobacco products. The bill, H.R.1256, passed the Senate by a vote of 79 to 17.

Sen. Corker said, "It's no secret that tobacco products are highly addictive and contribute to heart disease, lung cancer, and other deadly illnesses. This bill ensures these products face the same level of oversight and regulation as food, medicine, and other everyday items we purchase at our local grocery store. It also places an emphasis on preventing children from using tobacco.

Sen. Lamar Alexander voted again the bill. He said, "This bill does the right thing in the wrong way. It regulates tobacco but gives the job to the wrong government agency. The Food and Drug Administration is already so overwhelmed it can only regulate one percent of the food we import from around the world. I voted instead to give the regulatory job and adequate resources to the Department of Health and Human Services."

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EDITORIAL: Tobacco put on a leash  

acco products has been a long, exhausting battle. It's been clear since the 1950s that there was a link between smoking and cancer, but the power of lawmakers from tobacco-growing states has always stymied reforms. This go-around, tobacco giant Philip Morris supported the legislative effort, and that might have been key to its passage. However it happened, Americans will finally have a federal watchdog looking at and controlling what the tobacco companies are up to with their deadly products.

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EDITORIAL: Long desired regulation of tobacco is law  

President Obama, a smoker struggling to quit, immediately pledged to sign the new law. Congress must be vigilant to ensure the legislation lives up to its potential. A segment of Big Tobacco believes there is room for endorsement of a safe product. Nonsense.

The first official warning in 1964 declared smoking is hazardous to your health. In 2009, smoking kills says it all.

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• Senators say tobacco votes based on regulations, not campaign contributions  

The 17 senators who voted against allowing the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco included some of the top recipients of campaign contributions from tobacco manufacturers.

Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss is the third highest recipient of the group.

The historic anti-smoking legislation that the Senate passed Thursday sped to final congressional passage on Friday. Lawmakers and the White House quickly declared that it would save the lives of thousands of smokers of all ages. Even more important, they said, the measure could keep countless young people from starting in the first place. . . .

"I voted against the FDA tobacco bill because I'm opposed to the overregulation of an industry that's already highly regulated, from farmer to manufacturer," Chambliss said. "The bill saddles the already overburdened FDA with even more oversight duties, and does nothing to reduce the rate of smoking among Americans -- cigarettes already on the shelves will remain on the market."

Bunning, whose campaigns received $42,500 from R.J. Reynolds, says his vote reflects his state's interests. According to 2007 figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kentucky ranks second in overall tobacco exports, and the crop pumps $386.4 million into the state's economy.

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• FDA oversight not all bad for tobacco companies  

Even under the watchful eyes of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, tobacco companies such as Henrico County-based Altria Group Inc. will have opportunities to thrive, some industry observers say.

That's because the legislation passed by Congress this week giving the FDA authority to regulate the industry leaves some doors open for tobacco companies to innovate, and even to make health claims about products, something they cannot do now.

After years of political debate about FDA regulation, "we are entering a much more science-based phase now," said Scott Ballin, a tobacco and health policy consultant who has lobbied for FDA regulation of the industry for 20 years. . . .

"We think that the regulation is going to create a framework -- where one does not exist right now -- for the pursuit of tobacco products that are less harmful than cigarettes sold today," Altria spokesman Bill Phelps said yesterday. "We think that is one of the strengths of this legislation and one of the reasons that we support it."

While the best health choice for smokers is to quit, Phelps said, "our goal would be to design the best products that we can and then under federal authority make them available to adults who do not quit."

Industry observers said the FDA legislation sets a high bar for making reduced-risk claims about new tobacco products, higher even than some public health advocates wanted. . . .

Zeller said reports that Altria had a major influence over the FDA bill, and even wrote the legislation, "are way overblown."

"I believe [the bill's] strengths outweigh its weaknesses, and ultimately this will be very good for public health," he said.

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Tobacco Bill May Cut Iowa Smoking Rate  

"The tobacco industry spends about $176 million a year in state alone on advertising," said Aaron Swanson of the Iowa Department of Public Health. "Advertising has a huge influence on young people."

Swanson said that in Iowa, about 4,000 young adults become new smokers every year. The number also reflects the number of Iowans who die each year from smoking.

"Anything, any law that is passed that prevents that death, that addiction, that disease that is caused by tobacco is definitely a step in the right direction," Swanson said.

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EDITORIAL: A historic breakthrough on tobacco regulation 

The congressional sea change on tobacco affirms the history of FDA empowerment. Tragedy and public outcry have always been prerequisites for expansion of the agency's powers.

In 1938, for example, when Congress gave the FDA authority over the manufacturing and marketing of cosmetics, the action was preceded by an uproar over dozens of American women who went blind from using a toxic mascara called Lash Lure.

So it is today. In the face of a mounting public outcry over the 400,000 Americans who die every year from illness related to smoking, Congress has finally seen the light on tobacco. . . .

Tobacco giants Reynolds American and Lorillard vehemently opposed the legislation, but the biggest of them all, Philip Morris, USA, supported it. No one should be fooled by that, however; the FDA's restrictions on new products will cement Philip Morris' sales lead on such items.

All the more reason to applaud an amendment added to the bill by Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. It requires federal study of the public health effects of dissolvable tobacco candy products that target young Americans.

Finally, the nation has a Congress willing to act on their behalf, and that is historically important indeed.

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