Should the FDA regulate tobacco and tobacco industries?

Smoking has not always been considered bad. There was a time when smoking was actually considered "good for you". It was encouraged and seen as a means of relaxing and relieving tension. According to the history.com encyclopedia (2009), in World War ll, physicians endorsed cigarettes and they were included in the soldiers ration kits, this continued until 1975. Before the 20th century, lung cancer was rarely heard of, but around 1930, Epidemiologists noticed lung cancer rates began to dramatically climb. In 1962, the U.S. Government appointed ten scientists to study the evidence gathered by the cancer society and other organizations and concluded in a report by the Surgeon General in 1964 that cigarette smoking was a health hazard and suggest appropriate remedial action.

Proposals to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory control over tobacco are getting a serious hearing in Washington these days. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, sponsored by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), would impose new restrictions on tobacco product advertisements and sponsorship of public events and bestow on FDA new power to regulate ingredients found in tobacco products, including nicotine levels.

Legislation is necessary if FDA is to regulate tobacco, since in 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled FDA lacks authority to regulate tobacco. FDA's main concerns are keeping America's food and prescription drugs safe. Tobacco is not a "drug" (for FDA regulatory purposes) as it offers no therapeutic benefits, nor is tobacco a food product.

There are many problems with the idea of FDA regulation of tobacco. FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, concerned that under the proposal FDA would have the power to tamper with nicotine levels in cigarettes, does not think FDA should regulate tobacco. He has warned that a reduction in ...