Jump to full article: New York Times, 2009-09-14
Author: Martin J. Barrington Executive Vice President and Chief Compliance and Administrative Officer Altria Group
Intro: Your editorial and its headline did not acknowledge the different actions taken by the nation's leading tobacco companies with regard to regulation of tobacco products by the Food and Drug Administration.
Altria Group, parent company of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette manufacturer, and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, the largest smokeless tobacco manufacturer, supported the enactment of legislation granting the F.D.A. such authority for more than eight years.
Further, while we have repeatedly voiced concerns about the constitutionality of certain provisions in the bill, none of our companies are party to the lawsuit filed by other tobacco companies. We are currently monitoring the litigation and seeking ways to work constructively with the F.D.A. in resolving those concerns.
We feel that it is a disservice that you did not mention that two of the largest tobacco operating companies in the United States are not a part of the "Big Tobacco" action about which you wrote. We respectfully ask that any future articles reflect the differences between the positions and actions of companies in our industry.
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