FDA Legislation: Wrong Way to Regulate Tobacco
June 3, 2009
‘Forcing the FDA to regulate and approve the use of tobacco would be a distortion of the agency’s mission and a tremendous misuse of its overstretched priorities. We should be focused on giving the FDA the resources it needs to protect the public health, not burdening it with an impossible assignment’
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the FDA legislation that’s been debated on the floor this week:
“I’d like to say a few words about the FDA legislation that we’ve been debating on the floor this week, but first I’d like to thank Senator Enzi for his hard work in managing the bill. He always does a great job.
“I also want to acknowledge Senator Burr’s thoughtful leadership on this legislation. This is a complicated set of issues, and no one knows the intricacies better than Senator Burr. He’s been a good friend and ally of producers and growers dating back to his days in the House. And he’s offered a thoughtful alternative to the flawed legislation before us.
“A few years ago, I led the effort in Congress to enact the Tobacco Buyout, which ended the Federal Government’s support of tobacco production. Although the number of tobacco farms in Kentucky has decreased as a result of that legislation, thousands of Kentucky farm families and communities still depend on the income from tobacco production. I have concerns about the effect this legislation would have on them.
“Still, no one in this chamber would deny that tobacco is hazardous to the health of those who use it. And if the purpose of this bill is to reduce the harm that it could cause the people who consume it, then forcing the Food and Drug Administration to do the regulating would be the wrong route to take.
“The former FDA Administrator, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, has predicted that forcing the FDA to regulate tobacco would undermine the agency’s core mission of protecting the public health and ensuring that foods, medicines, and other products don’t pose a risk to American consumers. When the FDA approves a product, Americans expect the product to be safe. But, as we all know, there is no such thing as a safe cigarette. And forcing the FDA to regulate cigarettes will not make them safer for the American people.
“This legislation is flawed for other reasons as well.
“As Senators Burr, Enzi, and others have repeatedly pointed out, the FDA is already overworked in carrying out its core mission of protecting the public health. When it comes to contaminated peanut butter, tainted toothpaste, or unsafe drugs coming into the United States, Americans expect that all of the FDA’s resources are being used to protect them.
“Yet instead of freeing additional resources for the FDA to perform this important role, this legislation could divert the agency’s limited resources toward an impossible task: vouching for the safety of a product that cannot be made safe. The American people don’t want the FDA’s resources diverted on a fool’s errand.
“It’s hard to understand what the supporters of this bill are trying to accomplish. If the goal is to reduce smoking, then why isn’t there a single dime in this bill directed at smoking cessation programs? If there’s no such thing as a safe cigarette, the best way to help smokers is to help them kick the habit. This bill doesn’t. If the goal of this legislation is to launch a public campaign to reduce smoking and promote better health, then why is there no focus on federal programs that are already in place to achieve this goal?
“This legislation is the wrong way to regulate tobacco, and that’s why Senator Burr will offer a thoughtful way to accomplish this goal. Senator Burr’s proposal would create a new agency whose sole responsibility is to regulate tobacco. This would address the problem without undermining the FDA’s mission or straining its resources.
“Forcing the FDA to regulate and approve the use of tobacco would be a distortion of the agency’s mission and a tremendous misuse of its overstretched priorities. We should be focused on giving the FDA the resources it needs to protect the public health, not burdening it with an impossible assignment.”
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday regarding the FDA legislation that’s been debated on the floor this week:
“I’d like to say a few words about the FDA legislation that we’ve been debating on the floor this week, but first I’d like to thank Senator Enzi for his hard work in managing the bill. He always does a great job.
“I also want to acknowledge Senator Burr’s thoughtful leadership on this legislation. This is a complicated set of issues, and no one knows the intricacies better than Senator Burr. He’s been a good friend and ally of producers and growers dating back to his days in the House. And he’s offered a thoughtful alternative to the flawed legislation before us.
“A few years ago, I led the effort in Congress to enact the Tobacco Buyout, which ended the Federal Government’s support of tobacco production. Although the number of tobacco farms in Kentucky has decreased as a result of that legislation, thousands of Kentucky farm families and communities still depend on the income from tobacco production. I have concerns about the effect this legislation would have on them.
“Still, no one in this chamber would deny that tobacco is hazardous to the health of those who use it. And if the purpose of this bill is to reduce the harm that it could cause the people who consume it, then forcing the Food and Drug Administration to do the regulating would be the wrong route to take.
“The former FDA Administrator, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, has predicted that forcing the FDA to regulate tobacco would undermine the agency’s core mission of protecting the public health and ensuring that foods, medicines, and other products don’t pose a risk to American consumers. When the FDA approves a product, Americans expect the product to be safe. But, as we all know, there is no such thing as a safe cigarette. And forcing the FDA to regulate cigarettes will not make them safer for the American people.
“This legislation is flawed for other reasons as well.
“As Senators Burr, Enzi, and others have repeatedly pointed out, the FDA is already overworked in carrying out its core mission of protecting the public health. When it comes to contaminated peanut butter, tainted toothpaste, or unsafe drugs coming into the United States, Americans expect that all of the FDA’s resources are being used to protect them.
“Yet instead of freeing additional resources for the FDA to perform this important role, this legislation could divert the agency’s limited resources toward an impossible task: vouching for the safety of a product that cannot be made safe. The American people don’t want the FDA’s resources diverted on a fool’s errand.
“It’s hard to understand what the supporters of this bill are trying to accomplish. If the goal is to reduce smoking, then why isn’t there a single dime in this bill directed at smoking cessation programs? If there’s no such thing as a safe cigarette, the best way to help smokers is to help them kick the habit. This bill doesn’t. If the goal of this legislation is to launch a public campaign to reduce smoking and promote better health, then why is there no focus on federal programs that are already in place to achieve this goal?
“This legislation is the wrong way to regulate tobacco, and that’s why Senator Burr will offer a thoughtful way to accomplish this goal. Senator Burr’s proposal would create a new agency whose sole responsibility is to regulate tobacco. This would address the problem without undermining the FDA’s mission or straining its resources.
“Forcing the FDA to regulate and approve the use of tobacco would be a distortion of the agency’s mission and a tremendous misuse of its overstretched priorities. We should be focused on giving the FDA the resources it needs to protect the public health, not burdening it with an impossible assignment.”
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