September 23, 2009
Flavored ciggies banned: Better stock up before they’re pulled from the shelves!

Posted at 3:23 pm, in: Regulation
Tags: Cigarettes, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, Tom Harkin

“Federal health officials” just sounds scary to me:

Federal health officials banned the sale of flavored cigarettes on Tuesday in the first major crackdown since the Food and Drug Administration was given the authority to regulate tobacco.

The ban is intended to end the sale of tobacco products with chocolate, vanilla, clove and other flavorings that lure children and teenagers into smoking. The agency will study regulating menthol products and hinted that it might soon take action against the far larger market of flavored small cigars and cigarillos.

“These flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers,” Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, commissioner of food and drugs, said in announcing the ban.

In 2004, 17-year-old smokers were more than three times as likely as those over the age of 25 to smoke flavored cigarettes, and they viewed flavored cigarettes as safer. Among the more famous flavored cigarette introductions was that of Camel Exotic Blends by R. J. Reynolds, which had flavors like Twista Lime, Kauai Kolada and Warm Winter Toffee.

“Banning the marketing and use of strawberry, chocolate and other flavored cigarettes will help slow the rate of addiction among young smokers, preventing disease and saving millions in health care costs down the line,” said Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa.

Every day, 3,600 children and teenagers start smoking and 1,100 become daily smokers, studies show.

I would advise Senator Harkin, and those scary sounding federal health officials at the Food and Drug Administration, to read the book The Tipping Point. There’s some really good stuff about smoking and smokers. Specifically, about that last point that out of the 3,600 children and teens who start smoking every day only 1,100 become daily smokers. People who are going to smoke are going to smoke. Taking away flavored cigarettes isn’t going to stop them.

Anyway, I’m pretty sure that giving the FDA this authority is unconstitutional and an abdication of Congress’s responsibility, but who cares? No one likes a smoker, except for maybe all of those kids getting free health care from them. I would just like to know why I can’t get a vanilla flavored cigarette because some kid wants to smoke. That’s not my problem. Why am I being penalized because parents can’t do their job and talk to their kids about the danger of cigarettes?

And, what happens if they reach their goal of ending smoking in America? What happens to all of the tax revenue smoking generates? What happens to the programs being funded by that revenue? This is just another lie. They want cigarettes to be addictive and they want more people addicted to them. This is just another sound good policy. Well, I better go stock up before they clear the shelves. I think I just figured out what the trick-or-treaters will be getting from me this Halloween.