A win for market leader, regulators, and nanny-staters may be a loss for public health.
Jump to full article: National Review, 2009-06-15
Author: Jonathan H. Adler
Intro: The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act is revealed as yet another Beltway deal for Big Government and Big Business. Those who proclaim it a victory for public health and the public good are blowing smoke.
While supporters trumpet the legislation as a major advance for public health, any benefits will be quite modest. The Congressional Budget Office projects the bill will reduce adult smoking by 2 percent and youth smoking by 11 percent over the next ten years. These reductions will come at the cost of a new regulatory bureaucracy and a more intimate relationship between the federal government and Big Tobacco.
Some provisions could actually hamper the bill’s ostensible purpose of protecting smokers and others from tobacco. The bill grants the FDA the authority to limit nicotine in cigarettes, but not eliminate it altogether. . . .
The bill also creates burdensome regulatory requirements for new tobacco products that have the potential to reduce the risk of smoking. . . .
In their zeal to limit tobacco advertising and promotional activities, the bill’s sponsors also trampled the First Amendment. . . .
Limiting tobacco advertising and stalling the development of new tobacco products won’t help public health, but it will certainly benefit the nation’s largest cigarette manufacturer. Government regulation is the most tried-and-true way for incumbent firms to squelch smaller competitors, which helps explain why Philip Morris supports the bill and smaller tobacco companies oppose it. Harder to fathom is why public-health advocates who should know better celebrate the law as a major advance.
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