New Tobacco Bill Bans Flavored Cigarettes

[a_unique_person]

What do y'all think of this new bill that places tobacco under the oversight of the FDA?
Sounds good, right?
Cigarettes can no longer be marketed as "light" or "low tar". I'm fine with that, too. However, why is flavored tobacco banned now?! No more cloves, no more fruit-flavored smokes, no more shisha for hookas! Menthols, for some reason, are curiously exempt. Hhmmm..

It turns out:


http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/judgments/2009/06/08/cool-refreshing-legislation-philip-morris?page=full

This is all kinds of wrong. But what I am doing is running to the store and stocking up on Djarum Specials and Blacks.

This is groundbreaking legislation, according to this story.

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-...-curbs-on-tobacco-industry-20090613-c6c8.html

The US Congress voted overwhelmingly Friday to grant the government historic powers to regulate cigarette makers, overturning decades of resistance by the powerful tobacco industry.
The legislation, set to be signed into law later Friday by President Barack Obama, grants the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a regulatory body, the authority to regulate nicotine levels, ban added flavorings and require tough new warning labels in a bid to curb use among young people.
Obama hailed the passage of the measure as a "victory," saying the bill "truly defines change in Washington."

The details don't matter so much, it's the fact that the government can even touch tobacco that is important. It's one highly poisonous substance that has been out of the hands of the government to date to be able to regulate it. That has now changed forever.

 

[KoihimeNakamura]

I have to say I am not in favor of this bill. But hey, all the people who work at convience stores and ahve to deal with market share don't matter, right?

(Incidently, I never got how people thought Lights were.. light in nicotine.)

Clarification: The problem I have is pretty much if they ban this and then menthol, there goes a lot of our sales. And, incidently, while I don't really care for smoke, I don't see why my or anyone's opinion should stop people of legal age from buying it. Warnings? Hell yes. Banning? Nooo.

 

[ponderingturtle]

I have to say I am not in favor of this bill. But hey, all the people who work at convience stores and ahve to deal with market share don't matter, right?

This is true of any product so it is not a very strong argument. It is like the "Think of the Insurance Companies" arguments in discussing how to restructure health care.