We Need Your Help! Tell Congress not to weaken FDA's authority over tobacco products!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Friends in Tobacco
Control – WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Cigar manufacturers
and retailers are continuing to push to have language added to the
Agriculture/FDA appropriations bill that would exclude many types of cigars from
regulation by the FDA. We think they are pushing language similar to H.R. 1639,
a bill that would exempt many cigars from FDA oversight. The industry has been
lobbying hard on H.R. 1639 and the bill continues to pick-up
co-sponsors.
We believe the House
Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee could take up the funding bill next
Wednesday, June 6th. Action in the full Appropriations
Committee would take place shortly after the Subcommittee
acts.
We need your help to
send the message to members of the House Appropriations Committee to oppose any
effort to weaken FDA’s authority to regulate tobacco
products.
Given that members
are hearing from the tobacco industry it is critical that members of
Congress hear about this issue from the public health community. If your
Representative is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and you
haven’t already done so, please contact them over the next few days and
encourage your local partners and colleagues to do the same. Calls to
district offices or DC offices could go a long way to defeating any effort to
weaken FDA’s authority to regulate all tobacco products. To see if your
Representative is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, go to: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/houseapprops.html
You can find your
Representative’s phone number by clicking on the link at the top of the page and
entering your zip code. Go to: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/houseapprops.html
Your Representative’s
DC Office number should be provided on the page. To find their district office
phone number, click on the link to their website where you should be able to
find a number for their local office.
Below are some
talking points on the issue.
- We
are concerned that during consideration of the FDA appropriations bill an
amendment will be offered to reduce funding or weaken FDA’s authority over
tobacco products.
- We
know the cigar manufacturers and retailers are pushing to have language added
that would exclude many types of cigars from regulation by the FDA.
- There
should be discussion and careful debate about this issue before any action is
taken. All members should understand exactly what types of products would be
excluded.
- The
tobacco industry is arguing that H.R. 1639 would exclude "premium and
traditional” cigars. However, the proposed exemption appears to be much broader
than its proponents claim. It couldalso exclude products such as Swisher
Sweets blunts and cigarillos which come in flavors such as chocolate and
strawberry, or Phillies Sugarillo Cigarillos, which have been advertised with
the tagline, "when sweet isn’t enough.” These products are much cheaper than
premium cigars, often come in flavors that appeal to youth, and are sold in
convenience stores. The bill could also exclude some Black & Mild
cigar products, the most popular cigar brand among youth. [Note: H.R.1639 would
exclude cigars that are wrapped in leaf tobacco, have no filter, and weigh more
than 6 pounds per 1,000. Many smaller cigars such as Swisher Sweets, Phillies
Cigarillos and some Black and Mild cigars weigh more than 6 pounds per 1,000,
have no filter and are wrapped in a brown wrapper that contains leaf tobacco and
thus would be excluded.]
- Cigars
are not just smoked by adults. Nearly one in five (18.6%) high school boys
currently smoke some type of cigar (i.e., large cigar, cigarillo, or small
cigar).
- Cigar
smoking is harmful to health. Regular cigar smoking causes cancer of the oral
cavity, larynx, esophagus and lung. Heavy cigar smokers have an increased risk
of heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD).
- I
urge you oppose any amendment or bill that would exclude many types of cigars
from FDA oversight. It doesn’t make any sense to
completely exclude a product that causes cancer from any oversight. There
should be a thoughtful and thorough debate about this issue before any action is
taken
[Here] is a
factsheet that provides additional background information on H.R. 1639. As I
mentioned, we expect the cigar amendment to the FDA appropriations bill to
mirror this bill. The factsheet includes background information as well as
pictures of the products that could be potentially exempt from regulation under
the amendment.
If you have any
questions about this issue please don’t hesitate to contact me. Also, if you
make contact with any staff members about this issue, please let us know how it
goes.
Thank you!
Source: Meg Riordan, Director,
Policy Research, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
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