FDA tobacco bill watch

Information on the history, drafting, enactment, implementation and enforcement of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, ultimately approved by Congress in June, 2009, to have the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulate tobacco products.

Current info
The newly-passed FDA tobacco bill, and the restrictions it places on cigarette advertising, are already drawing opposition from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), a group of 340 companies that spend more than $100 billion a year on marketing and advertising. The new rules will ban outdoor advertising for tobacco within 1,000 feet of schools and playgrounds, and restrict many forms of print advertising to black-and-white text only. The ANA predicts that federal courts will throw out the new marketing restrictions. Tobacco companies have also started complaining about the bill's restrictions. Even Altria Group, the parent company of Phillip Morris, which helped draft the bill and supported the legislation, said in a statement last week that it believed some of the marketing restrictions were illegal. Legal experts have said a court challenge of the bill on First Amendment grounds is virtually certain.

Sourcewatch resources and articles

 * Senator Reveals Philip Morris Co-Authored FDA Tobacco Bill
 * Advertisers, Altria Oppose Restrictions in Tobacco Bill
 * The Untold Story of How & Why Philip Morris is Pushing for FDA Regulation
 * Is the FDA Tobacco Bill the "Altria Earnings Protection Act"?
 * As Nicotine Dose Increases, So Must Awareness of the Pitfalls of FDA Regulation
 * Beware The Tobacco Company That Begs for FDA Regulation
 * "Product Safety Standards" for Cigarettes?
 * Philip Morris in the Driver's Seat on FDA Tobacco Bill
 * Citing Menthol Exemption, Black Group Pulls Support for FDA Tobacco Bill
 * Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Tries to Explain "Menthol Loophole" in FDA Bill
 * What Philip Morris Seeks in FDA Regulation: Preservation of the Status Quo
 * R.J. Reynolds -- the Thoughtful Tobacco Company
 * Stranger Than Fiction: Major Health Groups Support Philip Morris?
 * Cutting Cigarette Deaths "Good For Business"-- But Not Right Now


 * Regulatory Strategy Project Philip Morris' 1999-2009 internal project plan to enact FDA legislation in its favor
 * The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
 * Matt Myers (negotiated terms of bill with Philip Morris)
 * Project Sunrise (Philip Morris plan to slow tobacco industry delegitimization, and ensure the long-term social acceptability of smoking and of the company itself.)
 * Anti-Tobacco Industry Plan
 * Mark Berlind (Philip Morris attorney who helped plan PM's Regulatory Strategy Project, and who negotiated FDA tobacco bill with Matt Myers)
 * Menthol
 * The Black Menthol Cigarette Market

External articles and resources

 * HR 1108 Bill Text on Thomas
 * Criticism of the FDA tobacco bil by the American Association of Public Health Physicians]
 * Enzi: Peace Treaty with Philip Morris No Way to Win War on Tobacco TradingMarkets.com, May 21, 2009 (says Philip Morris was a co-author of FDA tobacco legislation)
 * Richard Craver Deep Look: Author's book delves into 'unholy alliance' between Philip Morris, FDA, JournalNow.com, June 7, 2009
 * Brody Mullens How Philip Morris, Tobacco Foes Tied the Knot Roll Call. October 5, 2004