Jump to full article: The Age (au), 2007-11-06
Author: Cameron Houston
Intro: AN AUSTRALIAN adviser to the World Health Organisation has warned the ingredients of strawberry jam face tougher regulation than the deadly contents of cigarettes and has urged the Federal Government to act immediately.
A leading international expert on the health impacts of tobacco smoke, Dr Nigel Gray said he was disgusted that carcinogens in cigarettes remained unregulated, despite killing about 15,000 Australians each year.
"Controls apply to almost every marketed product from the amount of rat droppings permitted in wheat, to the amount of fat allowed in sausages and even the amount of mint allowed in nicotine replacement therapy," Dr Gray said in an editorial published in the Medical Journal of Australia yesterday. . . .
"For the Government to regulate the contents of cigarettes or to regulate products like the heatbar would undermine the message that all cigarettes are harmful and that quitting is the only option to avoid smoking-related illnesses. This is the approach we will continue to take," Mr Pyne said.
Cancer Council spokeswoman Anita Tang said a failure to act was an implicit endorsement of cigarettes.
Jump to full article » |