Bring tobacco under FDA control, SBC ethicist says

NASHVILLE — It’s a distasteful reality: The federal government carefully regulates products that aid individuals in breaking their addiction to tobacco, but tobacco products themselves are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Richard Land said Aug. 28.

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) ethicist appeared with other religious leaders and local public health experts in a Faith United Against Tobacco press conference in Nashville. The group expressed its support for the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which is H.R. 1108 in the House of Representatives and S. 625 in the Senate.

The bill would bring tobacco products under the purview of the FDA, Land said, and would give the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Land is president of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. “The tobacco companies have a problem,” Land said. “Their product kills their customers.” This was the driving force behind the industry’s insatiable push to attract new consumers and use questionable marketing tactics to reach youngsters, he said.

If the bill passes, Land said the general public would finally discover what “deadly garbage” the tobacco industry is putting in cigarettes. The legislation authorizes the FDA to identify and disclose the ingredients used in tobacco products.

He emphasized he is not seeking a ban on tobacco products but reasonable oversight of the product. He also expressed regret that “dog food is more regulated for safety than cigarettes.”