To the dismay of many smokers, on
June 22, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the
Family
Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, a law that allows the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration to completely regulate tobacco products and the
nicotine derivative. The law is undoubtedly intended to curb smoking habits,
but had the unintentional affect of making it more difficult for some to quit
smoking, thus resulting in a large number of upset smokers, many of whom felt
betrayed by the company whose products they had been purchasing for years, and
left wondering why their advocate has turned on them.
Altria
corporation, the parent of cigarette maker Philip Morris USA actively
participated in the passing of the bill, which has made many smokers unhappy,
especially people who are trying to quit smoking by using the
e-cigarettes which are essentially
fake cigarettes that have a nicotine delivery system and a light bulb at the
tip to simulate the look and feel of a cigarette, thus helping people who are
in the process of quitting smoking have the feel of a cigarette with a nicotine
delivery. The e-cigarettes clearly do not break the nicotine addiction, but it
does curb the smoke inhalation while people work toward limiting and even
eliminating their nicotine intake.
The new law
allows the FDA to regulate nicotine, thus all cigarette-free nicotine delivery
products may soon require a prescription, but since e-cigarettes have yet to be
approved by the FDA, many smokers and people trying to break the habit may be
forced to go back to smoking to satisfy their cravings, the opposite of the
intention of the law.
"This is clearly a case of a
law being pushed through without due diligence and proper hearings to make sure
the law is written properly. Politics aside, government should be helping
people, and in this case the new law may hurt the very people Washington is
trying to help quit smoking" said Fred Taub, President of Boycott Watch. "I am
not a smoker and second hand cigarette smoke generally makes me cough, but I
certainly respect people's rights to smoke and especially those who want to
quit smoking. This is nothing more than a government roadblock to consumer
rights."
At the moment, the FDA is seeking input
about how to regulate tobacco products including nicotine. On their website,
the FDA stated the "FDA looks forward to taking on this challenge and in doing
so will partner with public health leaders at our sister agencies, at the state
level, and in localities all around the country. FDA will perform its duties by
using the best available science to guide the development and implementation of
effective public health strategies to reduce the burden of illness and death
caused by tobacco products. FDA will seek input from the public as we begin
working to implement the Act."
While one would
expect the FDA to implement restrictions in stages thus making it easy for
smokers to quit, the rush to pass laws by the Obama administration may signal a
green light for the FDA to implement stringent rules and regulations quickly.
In the past, high added state taxes on cigarettes have resulted in people
crossing state and even international borders to save money on cigarettes. The
implementation of new regulations will likely result in the same, including
international purchases since addicted people will do anything to satisfy their
cravings.
While many smokers may be boycotting
Philip Morris and their products, the company surely has plans to offer
alternative products, or perhaps they are banking on smokers finding
alternative ways to obtain their cigarettes. Philip Morris will be an
interesting company to watch, especially on Wall Street.
For clarification, Philip Morris once owned Kraft
Foods, but spun it off in 2007. Some of the boycotters are apparently unaware
of the fact that Philip Morris no longer owns Kraft, so smoker's boycotts of
Kraft are invalid in this case. |
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