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Give FDA tobacco role

Bill would let agency control "safer-cigarette" claims by tobacco firms

December 30, 2008

If you're selling a product known to kill people, you face a knotty marketing problem: You must somehow persuade your customers to keep paying for it, and often pay more, but never exactly admit just how deadly it is. If you're the tobacco companies, the solution is simple: You lie.

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has dealt a sharp legal blow to the nicotine fibmasters, clearing the way for a bunch of potentially costly lawsuits, the next logical step is up to Congress: It must finally pass a bill that lets the Food and Drug Administration regulate tobacco products and the marketing practices that sell them.

This month the Supreme Court held that smokers can use state consumer protection laws to sue over deceptive marketing. On one side in this case were Maine residents who had been smoking Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights for more than 15 years. On the other were the manufacturers - Philip Morris USA and its parent, Altria Group - who had long claimed that the light cigarettes delivered less tar and nicotine. The lawsuit said these deceptive claims violated Maine law. The tobacco companies argued that federal labeling law pre-empts state laws. The court disagreed. That means about 40 suits based on the "light" claims can proceed.

But wouldn't it be better if we had a more effective cop on the tobacco beat, preventing companies from issuing lethal lies in the first place? That's the purpose of the FDA bill, which passed the House overwhelmingly on July 30 and has a large number of sponsors in the Senate. (Before he resigned his seat, President-elect Barack Obama, who admits that quitting smoking has been tough, was among them.)

The bill would specifically ban deceptive terms, require advance approval from the FDA for any claims on labels that cigarettes are safer and force tobacco companies to prove their health claims scientifically.

Its passage would sound a note of bipartisanship early in Obama's term. Then the government can prevent deception, so smokers won't have to file suits to punish the deceivers in court - after the health damage has been done.