North Carolina’s two U.S. senators are from opposite parties. That means they’re seldom working the same side of issues. So it should be a welcome sign for Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Kay Hagan to team up ... should be.
But they united for the wrong cause – to help tobacco companies and cigarettes escape meaningful regulation by the Food and Drug Administration.
The two have submitted legislation billed as an alternative to Rep. Henry Waxman’s bill requiring that tobacco be regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
It would create a new government bureaucracy that does nothing but oversee tobacco – a bureaucracy that does not even have the authority to control how much nicotine goes into cigarettes. Nicotine is what makes cancer sticks addictive.
Tobacco puts money in some North Carolinians’ pockets, but it’s deadly. The way to oversee a deadly product is to control the ingredients strictly and by listing the contents and risks prominently so consumers know it up front. We require that for lipstick. We even require it for aids to help people quit smoking. Why not cigarettes?
Burr and Hagan’s so-called alternative is nothing more than a smokecreen. They’re looking after the tobacco companies, not the health interests of their constituents.
- posted by Mary Schulken
But they united for the wrong cause – to help tobacco companies and cigarettes escape meaningful regulation by the Food and Drug Administration.
The two have submitted legislation billed as an alternative to Rep. Henry Waxman’s bill requiring that tobacco be regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
It would create a new government bureaucracy that does nothing but oversee tobacco – a bureaucracy that does not even have the authority to control how much nicotine goes into cigarettes. Nicotine is what makes cancer sticks addictive.
Tobacco puts money in some North Carolinians’ pockets, but it’s deadly. The way to oversee a deadly product is to control the ingredients strictly and by listing the contents and risks prominently so consumers know it up front. We require that for lipstick. We even require it for aids to help people quit smoking. Why not cigarettes?
Burr and Hagan’s so-called alternative is nothing more than a smokecreen. They’re looking after the tobacco companies, not the health interests of their constituents.
- posted by Mary Schulken
Mary
ReplyDeleteIf the morons don't know by now that smoking might not be the best thing for your body, they don't deserve to continue to dilute the gene pool.