Well, The House DID It. No, not drilling.
Hey folks,
In the Heath and Science segment this week, we look at something the House actually DID do. They voted to give the FDA athority over Big Tobacco. According to the American Cancer Soceity House Votes to Grant FDA Control of Tobacco Regulation
This week the US House of Representatives voted 326 to 102 to pass the Family Smoking Prevention Tobacco Control Act, which would grant the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) power to regulate tobacco products. If the legislation is enacted, consumers would see tougher warning labels on cigarettes, as well as tighter restrictions on how they're marketed, especially to youth.
"The tobacco industry has thrived on the business of addiction for decades by turning children into tobacco users with slick marketing tactics and misleading the public about the harms of its deadly products," said John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. "This bill forces Big Tobacco to disclose the poisons in its products and has the power to finally break the dangerous chain of addiction for generations to come."
With one execption. Remember this execption? Let me take you back to May 15, 2008. I told you THIS. OPNTalk - Will The REAL Racist Please Stand Up
Some public health experts are questioning why menthol, the most widely used cigarette flavoring and the most popular cigarette choice of African-American smokers, is receiving special protection as Congress tries to regulate tobacco for the first time.
One possible answer? They do not care if they die? Maybe, just maybe, they see the fact that 75 percent of Black Smokers smoke Menthol is a good thing? We have been told for years that cigarettes kill. Yet, if smokers were to quit tomorrow, where do you suppose all the money would come from that helps fund health care? It is bad, it kills, yet no ban? That is really just a side note.
The legislation, which would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to oversee tobacco products, would try to reduce smoking’s allure to young people by banning most flavored cigarettes, including clove and cinnamon.
But those new strictures would exempt menthol — even though menthol masks the harsh taste of cigarettes for beginners and may make it harder for the addicted to kick the smoking habit. For years, public health authorities have worried that menthol might be a factor in high cancer rates in African-Americans.
Yet they are exempting this? I remember seeing studies done that say Menthol actually grows crystals in the lungs and is FAR more dangerous than regular, unmethylated cigarettes. But as long as 75 percent of Blacks smoke Menthol, that's a fact that they are willing to overlook.
But they did it. Forget the whole Drilling thing. Forget the Energy thing. The FDA can now regulate Big Tobacco, that is with the exception of the Black Folks cigerettes. Leave them alone. Back to the ACS
The Act would require cigarette companies to disclose all ingredients used in cigarettes and to stop using words like "light" and "ultra-light" to give the impression that some tobacco products have a lower health risk. It also includes several provisions aimed at curbing smoking among children and teens. For example, it would require cigarette companies to use black and white lettering for outdoor billboards to reduce the visual allure of ads and prohibit candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes.
"Children can't vote for Members of Congress, but this bill gives Congress a chance to vote for children, 4,000 of whom try their first cigarette every day," said Daniel E. Smith, President of the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network (ACSCAN), the partner advocacy organization of ACS.
The legislation now goes to the US Senate, where it currently has broad support. If it passes there, it will go to the White House.
Tobacco causes nearly 1 in 5 deaths in the United States, killing about 440,000 Americans each year. Almost 90% of adult smokers start before the age of 19. For more information, see Questions About Smoking, Tobacco, and Health and Child and Teen Tobacco Use.
So if it is this bad, and it is, then why not ban it all together? Why exempt Menthol? Money. It is just that simple. Oh and who cares about those that somke Methal? Right?
Be right back.
Peter
Sources:
OPNTalk - Will The REAL Racist Please Stand Up
ACS - House Votes to Grant FDA Control of Tobacco Regulation
NYT - Cigarette Bill Treats Menthol With Leniency
Hey folks,
In the Heath and Science segment this week, we look at something the House actually DID do. They voted to give the FDA athority over Big Tobacco. According to the American Cancer Soceity House Votes to Grant FDA Control of Tobacco Regulation This week the US House of Representatives voted 326 to 102 to pass the Family Smoking Prevention Tobacco Control Act, which would grant the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) power to regulate tobacco products. If the legislation is enacted, consumers would see tougher warning labels on cigarettes, as well as tighter restrictions on how they're marketed, especially to youth.
"The tobacco industry has thrived on the business of addiction for decades by turning children into tobacco users with slick marketing tactics and misleading the public about the harms of its deadly products," said John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. "This bill forces Big Tobacco to disclose the poisons in its products and has the power to finally break the dangerous chain of addiction for generations to come."
With one execption. Remember this execption? Let me take you back to May 15, 2008. I told you THIS. OPNTalk - Will The REAL Racist Please Stand Up
Some public health experts are questioning why menthol, the most widely used cigarette flavoring and the most popular cigarette choice of African-American smokers, is receiving special protection as Congress tries to regulate tobacco for the first time.
One possible answer? They do not care if they die? Maybe, just maybe, they see the fact that 75 percent of Black Smokers smoke Menthol is a good thing? We have been told for years that cigarettes kill. Yet, if smokers were to quit tomorrow, where do you suppose all the money would come from that helps fund health care? It is bad, it kills, yet no ban? That is really just a side note.
The legislation, which would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to oversee tobacco products, would try to reduce smoking’s allure to young people by banning most flavored cigarettes, including clove and cinnamon.
But those new strictures would exempt menthol — even though menthol masks the harsh taste of cigarettes for beginners and may make it harder for the addicted to kick the smoking habit. For years, public health authorities have worried that menthol might be a factor in high cancer rates in African-Americans.
Yet they are exempting this? I remember seeing studies done that say Menthol actually grows crystals in the lungs and is FAR more dangerous than regular, unmethylated cigarettes. But as long as 75 percent of Blacks smoke Menthol, that's a fact that they are willing to overlook.
But they did it. Forget the whole Drilling thing. Forget the Energy thing. The FDA can now regulate Big Tobacco, that is with the exception of the Black Folks cigerettes. Leave them alone. Back to the ACS
The Act would require cigarette companies to disclose all ingredients used in cigarettes and to stop using words like "light" and "ultra-light" to give the impression that some tobacco products have a lower health risk. It also includes several provisions aimed at curbing smoking among children and teens. For example, it would require cigarette companies to use black and white lettering for outdoor billboards to reduce the visual allure of ads and prohibit candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes.
"Children can't vote for Members of Congress, but this bill gives Congress a chance to vote for children, 4,000 of whom try their first cigarette every day," said Daniel E. Smith, President of the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network (ACSCAN), the partner advocacy organization of ACS.
The legislation now goes to the US Senate, where it currently has broad support. If it passes there, it will go to the White House.
Tobacco causes nearly 1 in 5 deaths in the United States, killing about 440,000 Americans each year. Almost 90% of adult smokers start before the age of 19. For more information, see Questions About Smoking, Tobacco, and Health and Child and Teen Tobacco Use.
So if it is this bad, and it is, then why not ban it all together? Why exempt Menthol? Money. It is just that simple. Oh and who cares about those that somke Methal? Right?
Be right back.
Peter
Sources:
OPNTalk - Will The REAL Racist Please Stand Up
ACS - House Votes to Grant FDA Control of Tobacco Regulation
NYT - Cigarette Bill Treats Menthol With Leniency
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