Jump to full article: Associated Press (AP), 2003-04-24
Author: SIOBHAN McDONOUGH / The Associated Press
Intro: Federal regulators are overlooking the massive use of pesticides on tobacco, congressional auditors reported Thursday.
In a report that looked at how agencies assess risks and monitor residues of pesticides on tobacco, the General Accounting Office said no one comprehensively considers the adverse health effects of the use of pesticides on tobacco.
For every other product treated with pesticides and consumed by people or animals, the government assesses the health consequences of the pesticides used, sets safe limits on pesticide residues and routinely tests residue levels to assure compliance. Tobacco products have largely managed to escape all three of these layers of oversight, the GAO said.
Tobacco pesticides include some of the most dangerous pesticides used in the United States, the GAO said. They can cause acute poisoning, cancer, nervous system damage and birth defects. . .
Citing the GAO findings, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., sent a letter Thursday to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, urging him to support federal regulation of tobacco products, including authority to measure and regulate the use of pesticides and other additives.
The letter also went to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and EPA Administrator Christie Whitman.
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