For the first time, smokers may be able to see what's in the products they consume. Harmful additives could be limited, but critics say making cigarettes safer could make smokers less inclined to qu
Jump to full article: Los Angeles Times, 2009-05-30
Author: Noam N. Levey
Intro: In a historic shift in public health policy, Congress is poised to give the federal government sweeping new authority to regulate the manufacturing of cigarettes and other tobacco products. . . .
Yet the victory, which eluded anti-tobacco advocates for decades, comes with challenges as well as promise, as federal officials are given never-before-used tools to control a product that is still linked to approximately 400,000 deaths every year in the United States.
Particularly tricky may be keeping up the momentum of the anti-smoking campaign even as regulators try to make cigarettes safer, an effort that could paradoxically make some smokers less inclined to quit.
"We just don't know what is going to happen," said Kenneth E. Warner, dean of the University of Michigan's School of Public Health who has studied tobacco use for decades. "This is uncharted territory."
Altria Group Inc. -- the parent company of industry leader Philip Morris, which may have an easier time maintaining its dominance in a more regulated market -- has endorsed the bill.
"FDA regulation would provide some clear guidelines for products that could potentially reduce the harm caused by smoking," company spokesman William Phelps said.
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