ERLC urges regulation of tobacco products

WASHINGTON — The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) is urging adoption of legislation that would authorize the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products. ERLC is part of a coalition of about 50 public health and religious organizations supporting FDA authority over tobacco.

The FDA has never regulated tobacco, but Congress may be on the verge of granting the agency such authority.

ERLC President Richard Land encouraged House Majority Leader Tom Delay, R.-Texas, in a letter to work for approval of the amendment. “We find it incredible that the FDA can ensure the safety of everyday items like macaroni and cheese, but has no authority over tobacco, a product that kills over 400,000 Americans every year,” Land wrote. “The faith community spends too much time burying mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers who die because they became addicted to tobacco products when they were young.”