Tobacco now under FDA
Posted by Dave Bath on 2008-04-03
Australia should follow the example of the US (I don’t often say that!) where the FDA has been given oversight of the tobacco industry. The US House of Representatives committee on Wednesday passed a bill for the first time that would give the Food and Drug Administration broad authority to regulate tobacco. (See the Sci Am alert "House panel backs bill giving FDA tobacco power" 2008-04-02).
Unfortunately, Australia’s so-called Food and Safety Authority is dominated by industry, and it is separated from pharmaceutical regulators, despite the fact it is now legal to advertise health benefits of components of food (i.e. they are acting like drugs), so there is a conceptual dichotomy in operation. The scope of the FDA is obvious from it’s full name: the Food and Drugs Administration.
Mind you, the only reason some tobacco companies are backing the US bill is because industry has such a good track record at influencing decisions!
The action by the US House of Representatives is described in snippets over the fold:
Funded exclusively by millions of dollars of user-fees levied on the industry, the bill would give power to the FDA over cigarettes and other forms of tobacco, an idea backed by public health groups, some tobacco companies and many Democrats.
“It’s hard to believe that the FDA regulates toothpaste but not cigarettes,” New Jersey Democrat Frank Pallone said in backing the bill.
See Also:
- "If you drink cola, take sugary version" (2008-04-03) on another chemical affecting the brain is in our food (well, not mine).
- Update on a side issue: 2008-04-04 Scientific American post which discusses the double-whammy of a gene the makes some people more susceptible to both lung cancer and nicotine addiction
zombinol said
Should be a step in a good direction for the USA, I agree it would be good to see such measures here.
Now the ATF – (US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) will have to change its name, perhaps change it to ‘US Bureau of FA’.
The change also indicates a safety improvement. Whereas drinking Alcohol, Smoking a cigarette and handling a Firearm all at the same time was not ideal, now concentration on just drinking alcohol and handling firearms will be less complicated! It sends a better more healthier message to the kiddies ;-)
Dave Bath said
Zombinol said:
Actually, it was ideal when people had flintlocks and bags of gunpowder, the idiots would tend to remove themselves from the gene pool!