| This is a critical difference. The bill merely gives FDA the ability to require changes in cigarettes, but it doesn't require that FDA mandate any such changes, nor does it give the FDA any guidance in suggesting what changes would make cigarettes less toxic and less addictive. Nor is there any evidence that simply by reducing levels of various constituents, a cigarette could be made that is less toxic and/or less addictive. In fact, the bill gives the tobacco companies the opportunity to use their tremendous political power to block any attempt by the FDA to require the reduction or removal of constituents, especially nicotine. An escape clause in the legislation essentially requires Congressional approval of FDA action (by allowing the industry to use its political power to get Congress to exercise its veto power that the bill specifically provides). It seems like outright deception for the American Lung Association to tell its constituents, falsely, that the proposed legislation would require cigarettes companies to make changes to their cigarettes to make them less toxic and less addictive. |