Over the past several weeks and months, members of Congress
have introduced legislation to give the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) the power the regulate cigarettes. As the largest producer of
cigarettes in the United States, Philip Morris believes the time is
right for Congress to craft federal legislation that makes sense. We
support a congressional process that will produce a sensible, useful
FDA bill that will regulate tobacco products. And we believe that all
voices with a stake in this issue need to be heard. We encourage retailers,
wholesalers, smokers, cigarette manufacturers and the public health
community to participate in the discussions to help shape legislation.
Some people are skeptical of our motives. Yet our reason
is simple: we believe tough, but sensible regulation can bring greater
stability and consistency to tobacco policy and greater predictability to
the tobacco business. It can provide the opportunity to define, through
statute and regulation, the rules of the game for manufacturing and
marketing cigarettes in the United States. And we believe that, in order
to meet the expectations of society today, the tobacco industry and
cigarettes must be subjected to increased government oversight and
regulation, comparable to many common consumer goods.
It's important to note, however, that cigarettes are a
unique consumer product. As a result they should be regulated as
cigarettes, not as food or medical devices. We do believe there is a need
to create a separate and distinct regulatory regime that - while
respecting the decision of adults who smoke - provides for: additional
information on tobacco-related issues; government oversight of cigarette
manufacturing; and standards for the design, introduction and responsible
communications regarding potentially reduced-risk cigarettes.
Philip Morris and the public health community agree on
many positions contained in the legislative proposals currently pending in
Congress. These include:
- Providing FDA authority to: revise the text of
existing warning labels on cigarette packs and advertisements;
establish a national standard for cigarette ingredient disclosure;
establish standards for providing more information about smoke
constituents, including tar and nicotine, to consumers; oversee
cigarette manufacturing processes; ensure consistent use of brand
descriptors such as "light"; and test cigarette ingredients
to ensure they don't increase the inherent risks or
addictiveness of smoking;
- Establishing a national minimum age of 18 for the purchase of
tobacco products;
- Prohibiting the sale of cigarettes unpacked, as single cigarettes;
and
- Establishing a national requirement that cigarettes be sold only
when age can be verified and access laws can be monitored and
enforced.
We also believe that FDA regulation is the best way to establish
appropriate standards for determining what constitutes a "reduced
risk" cigarette. This would include setting guidelines for any claims
that could be made by manufacturers, including the type and manner of
communication that should be provided to consumers.
The 1998 settlement that tobacco companies reached with the states has
significantly curtailed cigarette advertising. Most forms of outdoor
advertising are gone. Paid product placements in movies and television are
prohibited. The distribution of merchandise with tobacco brand logos is
prohibited. In addition, the states have billions of dollars they can
spend on tobacco education, research, advertising, cessation, smoking
related healthcare costs for smokers, and cigarette access programs.
Philip Morris strongly supports Congressional action codifying these
marketing provisions (including the provision prohibiting the marketing of
cigarettes to minors) so that those restrictions would apply to the entire
U.S. tobacco industry.
There is significant agreement between Philip Morris and our critics on
the fundamentals of an FDA bill. However, several issues still need to be
resolved. All of us have an opportunity to address the details in this
Congress, and we are willing to work with our critics and others to make
reasonable FDA regulation of cigarettes a reality.
A detailed Philip Morris U.S.A. position paper on this issue is
available at www.philipmorrisusa.com.
We hope that you take the time to become familiar with this issue and our
position and work with us to achieve this goal during the current
legislative session.
