Time for Congress to Let the FDA Regulate Tobacco Posted on March 27th
THERE HAS BEEN a flurry of outrage at the lax regulation that allowed contaminated peanuts to kill nine people and sicken close to 700. Yet it almost goes unnoticed that cigarettes, the deadliest products sold legally in the United States, are free from oversight. That’s right: The Food and Drug Administration regulates almost everything Americans ingest, including nicotine gum, but not the product that makes that gum necessary. That allows cigarette makers to peddle a noxious mix of chemicals with impunity. Long-stalled legislation that would give the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products would change that. The House shouldn’t hesitate to pass the measure, which could come up for a vote as early as Monday.
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