Obama gives FDA control over tobacco industry

The law bans flavored cigarettes and reduces advertising.

By Will Guldin

Published June 23, 2009

More than 40 years after the surgeon general’s warning began appearing on cigarette packages, President Barack Obama gave the Food and Drug Administration regulatory control over the tobacco industry.

Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act on Monday. This law will, among other things, ban flavored cigarettes, introduce bigger warning labels on packaging, require full disclosure of ingredients in cigarettes to the FDA and reduce youth-oriented tobacco advertising.

Obama said the passage of the law means the decades-long effort to protect children from the dangerous effects of tobacco is victorious.

“It’s a victory for health care reform as it will reduce some of the billions we spend on tobacco related health care costs in this county,” Obama said. “It’s a law that will reduce the number of American children who pick up a cigarette and become adult smokers. And, most importantly, it is a law that will save American lives and make Americans healthier.”

Holding a pack of cigarettes in his hand, Jonathan Faucett, an employee at the Mutrux Tigar Sinclair gas station on Stadium Boulevard, said the addictive nature of cigarettes means people will continue to buy them no matter what.

“You could put a three foot clown on top of this saying ‘these will kill you!’ and people will buy them in handfuls,” Faucett said.

Despite this, Faucett said the FDA regulation of flavored tobacco would probably have an impact on its use by minors.

“Typically younger individuals are going to want something that is watermelon, something that is peach, just like a piece of fruit or a starburst, which is more than OK for a minor to have,” Faucett said. “Most adults aren’t going to want a peach, a strawberry, watermelon. They are going to want more of an adult concept.”

Tom Holloway, Missouri State Medical Association’s director of governmental relations, said more than 1,000 children become regular smokers everyday in the United States. He said this law would help reduce that number because it places limits on advertising that is geared toward children and limits cigarette advertising outside of buildings that sell tobacco products.

Matt Kuhlenbeck, head of the Missouri Foundation for Health’s Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Intiative, said reduced advertising and increased prominence of warning labels on packaging is an important way to reduce smoking.

“When you change how things are advertised, you change how they are perceived”, he said.

But Holloway said tobacco advertisements are not the only reason minors might be tempted to smoke in Missouri. He said the state’s low cigarette tax, which is the second lowest in the county at 17 cents, also contributes heavily to adolescent tobacco use.

“It’s just a fact that the higher the price, the less likely kids are to try cigarettes,” Holloway said.

He said raising this tax would go a long way to lowering the number of children in Missouri who smoke.

Although this legislation is generally supported for its attempts to lower underage tobacco use, some are concerned that it gives too much of a market advantage to Phillip Morris USA, which is the largest tobacco company in the United States.

Michael Siegel, a Boston University School of Public Health professor who specializes in research relating to tobacco policy, said this legislation essentially “freezes” companies’ positions in the cigarette market.

“It is really a dream come true for Phillip Morris because they have the majority of the market share right now and they will essentially never be challenged,” he said.

Reynolds American spokeswoman Maura Payne also said this legislation would give any company that is leading in the market an advantage, because it makes communicating with customers more difficult.

The RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, which is one of the nation’s largest cigarette manufacturers, still trails Phillip Morris in overall market share.

“It further constrains our ability, or any manufacturer’s ability to talk to our consumers,” Payne said.

Payne said this conversation with consumers is needed in order to convince consumers of another brand to change allegiances. She said because the cigarette market is shrinking, convincing people to change cigarette brands is becoming more and more important for cigarette companies.

Although health advocates across the country generally support this act, Kuhlenbeck said the ultimate effectiveness of it would depend on how the FDA exercises its newfound regulatory power.

“It has the potential to change how this product is regulated and monitored in this country, and it has the potential to create challenges and obstacles in the future,” he said.