By: Jordan Mummau, CIS Compliance Associate
jordanmummau@cis-partners.com
Imagine yourself back in high school; this may take some longer than others. You pull up to the Friday night party that you were never really invited to, blasting “Fight for your Right to Party” in your parents car, which you begged to use after you accidentally backed into the garage door. You step out of the car and scan the scene, waiting for the right time to make your appearance. After giving a few winks and a head nod, you reach into your Lee Dungaree jean pockets and pull out a comb to carefully sculpt your hair, which is almost as greasy as your face. Next, you reach into the pocket of your vintage polo t-shirt, which you won at a church retreat 3 years ago, and pull out a pack of cigarettes. You are not an experienced smoker, however, while leaning on the hood of your father's 1960 Oldsmobile Cutlass, the messages endorsed by ritzy celebs and a cartoon camel run through your mind as they entice you to puff away. The night ends. You now have fewer friends than when you came, there is a dent in the hood of your father’s car, and you have acquired a horribly sore throat that even Chuck Norris couldn’t fight (Okay, so everyone might not have had the same teenage experience).
Back to 2009. The messages and advertisements the tobacco industry have used for decades to lure society's impressionable young adults, will now come slapped with a giant WARNING label[i].
Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services states that, “the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulation of tobacco products will be a critical piece of a coordinated effort to save lives, lower costs and reduce suffering from heart disease, cancer and other tobacco-related illness.”[ii] This statement comes after President Obama’s decision to sign the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which hopes to alleviate some of the pressure tobacco companies allegedly place on America’s youth by regulating the methods in which the companies produce, market, and sell their products. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the new law could reduce youth smoking by 11 percent and adult smoking by 2 percent over the next decade[iii].
Under this new legislation[iv]:
- Cigarette packages will have warning labels that cover 50 percent of the front and rear. The word "WARNING" must be included in capital letters.
- Any remaining tobacco-related sponsorships of sports and entertainment events will be banned, as well as giveaways of non-tobacco items with the purchase of a tobacco product. A federal ban will be imposed on all outdoor tobacco advertising within 1,000 feet of schools and playgrounds.
- Point-of-sale advertising will be limited to adults-only facilities, and remaining vending machines will disappear except in places restricted to adults. Retailers who sell to minors will be subject to federal enforcement and penalties.
- Smokers, particularly young adults, will find they can no longer buy cigarettes sweetened by candy flavors or any herbs or spices such as strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon or vanilla. Cigarettes advertised as "light" or "mild," giving the impression that they are not as harmful to health, will no longer be found on store shelves.
The bill passed by Obama, who ironically is a smoker, represents a bill of historic measures that will hopefully reduce the number of people suffering from heart and lung diseases, cancer, and other illnesses that are related with tobacco use. Sebelius remarked, “These illnesses kill hundreds of thousands of Americans every year, and the new law gives us the tools to effectively address this major public health issue”ii. There are an estimated 45 million smokers within the United States. Of that 45 million, a projected 443,600 people die each year from a tobacco related illness[v].
Hopefully you wash your once greasy hair more than once a month, and have acquired more friends over the years than just your shadow. However, if you still smoke, be prepared for drastic changes per the FDA including changes in labeling, marketing, and the content of the actual product itself. Remember, the FDA is synonymous with ‘safe to use’ products. If the FDA is going to approve anything that contains already known harmful material, it is most likely going to be regulated to cause as little harm as possible, which could mean major changes for the entire tobacco industry. For those of us in the pharmaceutical realm, it will be interesting to monitor the regulations placed on tobacco products, to determine if these regulations set by the FDA will result in fewer people seeking healthcare treatment for tobacco related illnesses in the years to come.
As a side note, if your father still has that 1960 Cutlass, minus the dented hood, give me a call.
Sources:
[i] Windish, Joe. "The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act." The Moderate Voice. 13 June 2009. 22 June 2009 http://themoderatevoice.com/35259/the-family-smoking-prevention-and-tobacco-control-act/
[ii] "News Release." US Department of Health and Human Services. 11 June 2009. 22 June 2009 http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/06/20090611d.html
[iii] "Obama to Sign Sweeping Anti-Smoking Bill." MSNBC. 22 June 2009. Associated Press. 22 June 2009 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31481823/ns/politics-white_house/
[iv] "Obama to Sign Tobacco Regulation Bill." Kyw News Radio. 22 June 2009. 22 June 2009 http://www.kyw1060.com/Obama-to-Sign-Tobacco-Regulation-Bill/4647399
[v] "Cigarette Smoking." Cancer. 21 May 2009. American Cancer Society. 24 June 2009 http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2X_Cigarette_Smoking.asp
Thursday, July 2, 2009
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This blog not only succeeds in what I doubted a single author could accomplish -- the blog is, in fact, a useful and balanced overview of the state of medical education -- but also is exactly what the author promises a blog about the pursuit of excellence in medical education, construed above all in ethical terms.
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