Government Regulation of Tobacco Products

"Government Regulation of Tobacco Products"

Government regulation of tobacco has come under some fierce opposition. Naturally the big tobacco companies do not want any type of regulation and yet one company was a quiet supporter. This company, the Altria Group which is a parent company of Philip Morris, believed the bill would pass so they wanted to make sure they had a say when the bill would be discussed. They believed they could handle regulation they just did not want to see tobacco outlawed for good.

While Altria is trying to understand and even supporting the bill, Reynolds America, the parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, was at arm's length and ended up attacking the FDA. They stated that the FDA was unable of enforcing regulation on tobacco. Their main reason was the FDA is already overwhelmed with trying to keep up with food and drug safety. Altria does not want tobacco to be outlawed permanently and at the same time they are trying to improve their image. "It may also create the impression that Philip Morris's products are being made safer and ultimately protect the company from litigation." (McDaniel & Malone, 2005, p. 2)

Several hundreds of thousands of people die each year due to cigarette smoke. "Cigarette smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke cause more than 440,000 premature deaths each year in the United States". Nicotine is extremely addictive and too many kids and teenagers are being lured into smoking. They see a colorful cartoon and flavored cigarettes as cool. "The new law provided the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the power not only to forbid advertising geared toward children but also to regulate what is in cigarettes" (Lawrence & Weber, 2011, p. 191).

The main goal in introducing this bill is to deter people of all ages, especially children and young adults. Another goal that I found to be another good one is "to lower the levels of nicotine and other toxin in cigarette smoke or make cigarettes taste so bad they deterred users"(Lawrence & Weber, 2011, p. 192). The tools that can be used are to ensure that people know what exactly is in the tobacco products.

Reference

Lawrence, A. T. & Weber, J. (2011). Business and Society: Stakeholders, Ethics, Public Policy (13th ed.).

http://www.ussmokeless.com/en/cms/Responsibility/Legislative_Issues/FDA.aspx?src=home