Summary
Will FDA tobacco legislation simply close the barn door after the horses are out?
Analysis
The battle of whether to have the FDA regulate the Tobacco industry was waged a long time ago. Not less than 5 years ago the Senate dropped a provision trying to accomplish this seemingly monumental task! Clearly this is an industry, irrespective of the major negative litigation results, that needs more intense monitoring & regulation. Some have suggested a separate agency be created, but why should the American people fund a whole new project & wait for its implementation when there is already an agency well equipped to take on this challenge. After all, healthcare costs have sky rocketed to treat diseases associated with smoking, let alone the millions in dollars to get this industry under better regulation. Even when one looks at the basic premise to this assignment to the FDA, it seems clearly axiomatic & stifling to wonder why it really should have taken this long! The obvious ripple affect of the FDA being involved is what will this really mean to the tobacco industry. It certainly will not be business as usual! Is it conceivable to think that maybe all those years of blinders will finally have to be taken off to deal with what has long been a systemic problem! While the teeth to having the FDA involved has not been fully defined, the bite clearly will be a strong one! Hopefully that does not mean the cost will ultimately be borne by just the consumer! http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/fda/summary.shtml
