President right to Veto Tobacco Bill
The president is reported ready to veto the Tobacco Bill if passed as currently formulated. This bill, favored by Phillip-Morris is flawed in several ways. First the FDA already has too much on its plate. While Congress has increased its appropriations it is not nearly enough to manage its current responsibilities. That is a reason for the President to Veto it. Further Congress has refused to amend an exception for Menthol based cigarettes despite research from the Harvard School of Public Health showing that “Menthol cigarette brands have been rising in popularity with adolescents, and the highest use has been among younger, newer smokers.”
The paper, “Tobacco Industry Control of Menthol in Cigarettes and Targeting of Adolescents and Young Adults,” appears in the online “First Look” section of the American Journal of Public Health in advance of publication in the September 2008 issue. “For decades, the tobacco industry has carefully manipulated menthol content not only to lure youth but also to lock in lifelong adult customers,” said Howard Koh, Professor and Associate Dean for Public Health Practice at HSPH and a co-author of the paper.
Further, an analysis by the American Association of Public Health Physicians raises concern that if the bill were enacted the tobacco companies would use the FDA oversight to declare that cigarettes had been found safe. There is nothing safe about cigarettes. They contain poisons. The FDA has no mandate to certify poisons safe for non-medical use.
