Groups urge tobacco legislation
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
A report released Feb. 20 by a coalition of public health organizations says that the current lack of government regulation gives the tobacco industry "free reign" to target children, mislead consumers and discourage smokers from quitting. Specifically, the study says flavored products, such as cigarettes flavored like candy, fruit and alcohol "mask the harshness of the products" making them "more appealing to children." In an effort to snuff sales of this "insidious new generation of tobacco products," Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., joined the coalition in issuing the report, promoting legislation that would give FDA authority to regulate tobacco products and their marketing. Durbin introduced S.625 and Rep. Henry Waxman introduced H.R. 1108 early last year to empower FDA to ban candy-flavored cigarettes, require companies to disclose ingredients in tobacco products, require removal of harmful ingredients and prohibit claims such as "reduced risk," "low-tar," "light" and "mild"...