Altria Supports Revived Fda Tobacco Measure Opposed By Reynolds
The FDA could place restrictions on tobacco marketing and manufacturing under the legislation that House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman plans to bring before his panel tomorrow, according to spokeswoman Karen Lightfoot. A similar measure passed the House last year, and then stalled in the Senate.
President Barack Obama, who says he has kicked a smoking habit, has supported such legislation, while former President George W. Bush opposed it. The measure rekindles a fight between Altrias Philip Morris USA, which makes half of the cigarettes sold in the U.S., and Reynolds American Inc. and Lorillard Inc. The smaller manufacturers oppose restrictions they say would perpetuate Philip Morriss position as the market leader.
“We continue to support tough but reasonable federal regulation of tobacco products,” Bill Phelps, an Altria spokesman in Richmond, Virginia, said yesterday in an e-mail. The company, which controls almost 51 percent of U.S. cigarette sales, led by its Marlboro brand, “would be supportive” of the Waxman bill that has circulated among House members.
The measure offered by Waxman, a California Democrat, would have “the effect of locking in market share,” Maura Payne, a Reynolds spokeswoman, said yesterday in a telephone interview. The Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based maker of Camel and Kool cigarettes had 28 percent of the market at the end of last year.
Less-Harmful Products
Reynolds, which started selling dissolvable tobacco tablets under the Camel name this year, is concerned the FDA wouldnt do enough to encourage development of less-harmful tobacco products given the governments focus on smoking prevention and cessation, Payne said.
“The bill does not establish a regulatory framework for recognizing harm reduction as a viable means of reducing tobacco- related deaths and diseases,” Payne said. That is “one of the most critical shortcomings.”
The measure “would allow the FDA to impose a de facto prohibition on a product used by approximately one fifth of all adults,” Lorillard said in an e-mailed statement. The company predicted the FDA “would ultimately move to ban the conventional cigarette product.”
Lorillard, which trails Altria and Reynolds in sales, said FDA regulation would provide “a competitive advantage” to its larger rivals.
The FDA is “already overworked by Congress” and is “already struggling to attend to its most fundamental responsibilities to keep the U.S. food and drug supply safe,” Lorillard said.
Young People
The bill would ban all tobacco advertising within 1,000 feet of schools and playgrounds; prohibit free giveaways of non- tobacco items with the purchase of a tobacco product and restrict tobacco vending machines to adult-only facilities.
Waxman would also require larger and more specific health cautions on cigarette packs, with the warnings covering 50 percent of the front and rear panels of the package.
The Federal Trade Commission currently regulates tobacco labels and marketing to ensure they arent misleading or deceptive, authority that Waxmans legislation would shift to the FDA.
The bill would also give the FDA authority to require recordkeeping and tracking to fight cigarette smuggling and allow states and localities to regulate the time, place and manner of tobacco use.