Tobacco Industry at Table as FDA Mulls Regulations

Tobacco Industry at Table as FDA Mulls Regulations
August 28, 2009

News Summary

Three representatives of the tobacco industry will be part of a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel charged with issuing recommendations on issues such as allowing menthol flavorings in cigarettes and use of the term "light" on cigarette packaging, Dow Jones reported Aug. 25.

The 12-member panel will look at a variety of issues that were not explicitly resolved by the new law empowering the FDA to regulate tobacco. For example, the legislation passed by Congress bans the use of most cigarette flavorings, but not menthol.

The panel also is likely to be involved in making recommendations on marketing of smokeless-tobacco products, which the industry would like to cast as a safer alternative to smoking. The law says companies cannot market tobacco products as "reduced risk" unless there's proof to support the claim.

Nominations of panel members are currently being solicited. The membership will include eight experts in medicine, medical ethics and tobacco technology, three nonvoting representatives of the tobacco industry, and one member of the general public.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by Bill Godshall on 31 Aug 09 10:53 AM EDT

The title of this posting is misleading, as the three tobacco industry representatives on the scientific advisory panel will be nonvoting members. And since the MSA agreed to by large tobacco companies specifically prohibits them from making "any material misrepresentation of fact about the health consequences of using any tobacco products," their representation on the advisory panel is not a problem. Unfortunately for scientific integrity and public health, the 12 voting members of the FDA's scientific advisory panel are not prohibited from making any material misrepresentation of fact about the health consequences of using any tobacco product, which is a problem since government health agencies (e.g. CDC, NCI, US SG, State Health Depts.) and well funded anti tobacco extremists (CTFK, ACS, AHA, ALA) have been intentionally misrepresenting the comparable health risks of smokeless tobacco products versus cigarettes (by misleading smokers and the public to inaccurately believe that smokeless tobacco porducts are as harmrul as cigarettes. In fact, cigarettes are about 100 times deadlier than smokeless tobacco products, switching from cigarettes to smokeless tobacco reduces health risks nearly as much as quitting all tobacco/nicotine, and millions of smokers have already sharply reduced their health risks by switching from cigarettes to smokeless.

Posted by Barry McMillen on 31 Aug 09 11:12 AM EDT

This reminds me of a movie, "Sleeping with the Enemy"! It seems the government does not learn from past mistakes. It is no longer a mystery why the infamous war on drugs is a failure. Lives for sale, cheep, to the highest bidder.

Posted by Edwin Smith on 31 Aug 09 01:45 PM EDT

Interesting, tobacco companies combined with the FDA.I just have one thing to say about smokeless tobacco, there is no safe tobacco product or safer for that matter. Smokeless tobacco is as addicting as cigarettes, in this I have had experience. I was hooked since I was a teenager. I have been free smokeless tobacco for the past 13 years and I had a real hard time quitting and I got gum disease out this filty habit. I had the cravings for at least 5 years after going cold turkey and sometimes get cravings even now. I know a lot of others that want to quit but can't seem to. The only safe tobacco product is to be tobacco free!

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