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Proposal Would Be Far Less Effective Than Rules For Other Drugs 
And Would Not Permit FDA Regulation of Deadly Tobacco Additives

In an apparent effort to head off effective regulation of nicotine in cigarettes, Philip Morris is preparing to propose a toothless form of regulation far less strict and much less effective than that applied to far less dangerous and even to non-additive drugs, says Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).

Rather than accepting the same rules which currently apply to thousands of other drugs — including many which are non-addictive and have never killed a single person — and to nicotine in patches, gum, and inhalers, Philip Morris wants special exceptions for the most deadly and addictive of all lawful drugs, says law professor John Banzhaf, Executive Director of ASH.

This is despite the fact that Philip Morris now admits that nicotine is deadly and that cigarettes kill millions of people.

Under current FDA rules which apply to birth control pills, asthma medications, high blood pressure pills, and thousands of other very safe drugs, all advertising must contain a clear and conspicuous disclosure of all dangers associated with using the product. Philip Morris apparently is unwilling to provide any such full disclosure in its cigarette advertising.

The FDA is also empowered to order the removal of any dangerous additives in drugs it regulates.

So, while cigarettes contain what recent reports call "a lethal cocktail" and "600 poisons in every cigarette" — including a paint stripper, a toilet cleaner, a lighter fuel, the chemical in mothballs, etc. — Philip Morris will no doubt insist that its deadly product be exempt from such regulation.

"Regulation of nicotine in cigarettes is inevitable," says ASH, "and Philip Morris is simply launching a preemptive strike to try to maintain its position as the most-favored drug; one immune from the effective regulations which are now applied to nicotine in other forms, and to thousands of other drugs used safely every day by millions of Americans. They deserve to fail!