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Econwatch
June 11, 2009 2:50 PM

Tobacco Bill's Big Winner: Philip Morris?

By
Brian Montopoli
Topics
Regulation
(AP)
The Senate today passed a bill giving the Food And Drug Administration power to regulate the sale, manufacture and marketing of tobacco products.

The bill is a big deal: It has been in the works for a decade, and supporters say it could mean a reduction in the number of Americans who die each year from tobacco use, a figure that stands in excess of 400,000.

"We're going to be able to protect millions of children and Americans from deadly tobacco-related disease," said Sen. Dick Durban, according to the Associated Press.

You might expect tobacco companies to oppose the legislation, and you wouldn't be wrong: Lorillard Inc., the third-largest tobacco manufacturer, issued a statement saying "Congress should not be burdening the FDA with a new responsibility over a multibillion-dollar industry when it is failing presently to preserve its core mission."

But the largest tobacco manufacturer in the country, Philip Morris USA – a division of Altria Inc. and the home of the popular Marlboro brand – largely supports the bill. The company's spokesperson, Bill Phelps, told NPR it "will create a framework for the pursuit of tobacco products that are less harmful than conventional cigarettes."

Lorillard, Reynolds American Inc. and other tobacco companies have an explanation for why Philip Morris is supporting a bill that would mean stronger regulations on its products: They say the legislation will pave the way for the company to cement its dominant position in the market, because the regulations will make it harder for companies to market smaller brands or introduce new products.

As the Wall Street Journal notes, Lorillard has gone so far as to call the legislation "the Marlboro Monopoly Act."

Philip Morris has expressed concerns about potential regulations on advertising, but they're not enough to overturn its overall support for the bill. (And those regulations are expected to be challenged in court.) The legislation does not allow the FDA to ban menthol flavoring or tobacco itself, but it does allow the agency to regulate tar and nicotine levels and ban other flavorings.

President Obama – a longtime smoker who says he's quit – is expected to sign the bill when it crosses his desk. It will likely mean an end to the words "mild," "low tar" and "light" on cigarette packaging, limits on advertising, an increase in safety warnings, and the ability for states to regulate how and where cigarettes are sold.

Add a Comment
by diesel_smurf June 12, 2009 2:14 PM EDT
Okay is it not our right as AMERICANS to CHOOSE to smoke if we are over the age of 18??? Increasing the taxes on tobacco to try and "save us" from ourselves so maybe we can quit and not get cancer is WRONG! Smoking RELAXES me and I am bipolar, and suffer PTSD, and am NOT MEDICATED, you take my smokes from me and I am gonna EXPLODE!!! You know they make medications so that you can not afford those, and even if you can get them for 4 dollars at wal-mart, you can't afford to go see the doctor to prescribe them! Now you tax tobacco, some of us do NOT want to quit, we actually do ENJOY it. If the government wants to save the USA from dying, then tax all these fast food chains that everyone keeps buying greasy foods from to feed their 1 year old FRENCH FRIES! Obesity is America's problem NOT tobacco!!!! I don't see a single smoker putting a cigarette in a 1 year olds mouth!
Democracy my butt!!! And they wonder why I don't vote.............. CAUSE THEY DON'T CARE WHAT I THINK ANYWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply to this comment
by RLS1024 June 12, 2009 7:07 AM EDT
Yet another Obama campaign donor is paid back!
~~~
No need to ban smoking, the fed simply needs to quit subsidizing tobacco.
~~~
Once cigarettes hit $45 a pack, then only the rich will be able to afford smoking. They will all die of lung cancer, and their wealth can then be redistributed to its rightful owners? Commissar Obama the Messiah, Imperial Reader of the Almighty, Most Powerful, and All Knowing Teleprompter, and his Brown Shirt criminals and tax cheats.
~~~
By the way? since smoking is prohibited in all government buildings or within 50 feet of any building, where does Obama toke his weed? Does he stand ?out back? of the white house with the kitchen staff?
Or does Federal law not apply to the Mesiah?
Reply to this comment
by joelycra June 11, 2009 7:17 PM EDT
How can the FDA stamp their seal of approval on a safe cigarette? No cigarette is safe. We have idoits running the country people.

I hear sob stories about people who lost loved ones and go on and on about how they just couldn't quit. They blame the tobacco companies, but the truth is that if their loved ones wanted to quit, they would have. They just don't want to admit that their loved ones made the choice to continue smoking.

This isn't about FDA regulation... this is the beginning of tobacco prohibition. It worked so well for alcohol, the war on drugs has been a total failure, and this will fair no better.

Ever since the put a warning label on cigarette packs, no one has any right to sue, complain, or throw their hissy fit about the dangers of smoking. The danger was spelled out right there on the pack and if you smoked, it was a choice you made. This country has become nothing but a nation of whining crybabies that refuse to accept responsibility for their own actions.

And.... yes, I am a smoker. It's a choice I made. I'm not going to blame anyone but myself for the consequences of my decision.
Reply to this comment
by jasperlily June 11, 2009 6:43 PM EDT
lastranger-2009

Not sure it's socialism but I love it a whole lot more than what we got under that lying bush puppet. What I can't understand is why the feds - of any party - haven't outlawed cigarettes altogether, long ago. And, yes, I'm a smoker and I still think it should be outlawed. Guess they just don't want people to be able to quit (wink, wink) so the tax revenue keeps on comin' in. This Bill is nothing more than lip service (no pun intended )
Reply to this comment
by ToolMangler1 June 11, 2009 3:27 PM EDT
You will be allowed two cigarettes per day. You will have to build at your expense) a sealed room with recirculation air (filtered). Its almost there now folks. Hahahahahahaha and you thought Big Brother was just a figament of Orwells imagination, didn't you LOLOLOL
Reply to this comment
by lastranger-2009 June 11, 2009 3:26 PM EDT
Well, let?s see.
Comrade obama is now the CEO of GM, Chrysler, AIG (which you gotta? admit ain?t bad for a guy whose claim to fame was being a community organizer). He has now put another industry under the control of one of his many Commissars.
Mark my words; the next industry will be health care, followed close behind energy.
Don?t you just love socialism so far?
Analyst, Ph.D.
Reply to this comment
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