The Smokers Rights Newsletter

Free cigarettes are no longer handed out at Congressional Black Caucus functions. And it has been years since anyone referred to Edolphus Towns, Democrat of Brooklyn, as the "Marlboro Man" for his campaign contributions from the tobacco industry.

But the Congressional Black Caucus has not severed its financial ties to big tobacco. And that can complicate matters when the political discussion involves smoking's impact on African-Americans.

A rift has opened in the 43-member caucus over a menthol provision in legislation that would enable the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco. To reduce smoking's appeal to teenagers, the legislation would outlaw flavored cigarettes - except for menthol cigarettes, which are specifically exempted.

With menthol brands making up about 28 percent of the $70 billion American cigarette market, the exemption was seen as a necessary compromise to win broad backing for the legislation.

But menthol has become a politically charged subject in Washington because an estimated 75 percent of black smokers choose mentholated brands.

Scientists have long wondered whether menthol might play a role in the disproportionate share of smoking-related cancer among African-Americans - if for no other reason than the additive may mask the harshness of the smoke, making it easier for teenagers to begin smoking.

Critics of the menthol exemption tend to denounce it as a sellout to the tobacco industry, and some members of the black caucus are pressing to narrow the exemption or ban menthol outright. But other caucus members oppose any changes, saying that pushing too hard now on menthol could endanger the legislation.

Concerns about the racial implications of menthol may have been heightened last week by a Harvard study stating that cigarette makers had deliberately manipulated menthol levels to attract young people.

As long as two decades ago, Brown & Williamson, then the maker of Kool cigarettes, concluded that the menthol cigarette was a "good starter product" because new smokers "already know what menthol tastes like, vis-à-vis candy," according to a company memo.

"It's a very emotional issue," said Elijah E. Cummings, a member of the caucus from Maryland who tells stories of the deadly impact of cigarette smoking in his hometown, Baltimore. He opposes the menthol exemption.

But the caucus's chairwoman, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, says its members, all Democrats, are deeply divided on the subject. "The caucus is split," she said. "We do want to see menthol regulated, but we're convinced that eliminating or prohibiting menthol would be a killer for the bill."

The legislation in its current form, with the menthol exemption, has broad support in the House. It also has the backing of many health groups, as well as the nation's biggest cigarette company, Philip Morris USA, whose support is considered crucial for passage. The company makes Marlboro Menthol, the second-biggest menthol brand.

Philip Morris over the years has been one of the biggest contributors to the caucus's nonprofit Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. That financial support, in some years exceeding $250,000, and lesser amounts at times from other cigarette makers, has been the reason some critics perceived an alliance between big tobacco and African-American members of Congress, some of whom were willing to help fend off antitobacco efforts.

Among them, some critics have said, was Charles B. Rangel of New York. Although he supported some antitobacco initiatives, until the last few years Mr. Rangel staunchly opposed federal tobacco tax increases. He has said his stand was based on the disproportionate effect of excise taxes on the poor, not the thousands of dollars he received in tobacco industry political action committee donations.

Some caucus members have always seen tobacco money as a Faustian bargain and refused to take such donations, urging their colleagues to do likewise. One of them, John Lewis of Georgia, once told a reporter, "People are reluctant to criticize the giver, to bite the hand that feeds them."

Black lawmakers who maintain strong tobacco industry ties include James E. Clyburn, who represents a tobacco-growing region of South Carolina and is majority whip of the House. Last year, Altria, the parent of Philip Morris, donated $50,000 to an endowment he established at South Carolina State University, a historically black college.

And yet, even before the menthol controversy erupted, tobacco money was gradually becoming less crucial to the group, as it attracted more money from a broader segment of industries, including drug makers.

Last year the caucus unanimously supported legislation to finance the children's health insurance program, Schip, with a 45-cent tax increase on tobacco products. Mr. Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, sponsored the legislation. The caucus has sponsored college antismoking programs and smoking-cessation talks.

Ms. Kilpatrick, from Michigan, said the black caucus was drafting an amendment to the House tobacco regulation bill, possibly to call for a study of menthol. That is short of what some members had hoped for - a phase-out of menthol cigarettes.

Philip Morris declined to say whether the company would continue its support for the bill if menthol were banned.

Some supporters of the legislation in its current form argue that an outright ban on menthol may drive menthol smokers to contraband imported cigarettes.

The Bush administration opposes the tobacco legislation, saying it would do more harm than good by seeming to give an F.D.A. imprimatur to smoking. In the Senate, the issue is not expected to be taken up until after a House floor vote, which could come before the end of July.

Tobacco companies opposed to the legislation include Lorillard, maker of the leading menthol brand, Newport, the favorite of African-American smokers. The company, which says there is no scientific evidence that menthol is harmful, argues that the legislation' s marketing restrictions would place smaller companies at a competitive disadvantage against the giant, Philip Morris.

Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California, who is the House bill's sponsor, has indicated he is unwilling to risk the bill's passage by making major changes in its menthol language. He has said the bill gives the F.D.A. the power to regulate menthol if it is shown to be harmful. In transmitting the bill to the House of Representatives last week, the Energy and Commerce Committee included a note that urged the F.D.A. to "move quickly to address the unique public health issues posed by menthol cigarettes."

Two former federal health secretaries, Joseph A. Califano Jr. and Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, who is African-American, met recently with Mr. Waxman to argue against the menthol exemption. Because he said he was unlikely to change his mind, they later sent him a letter saying "the current version of the bill, which gives menthol a protected status, would have the effect of discriminating against the health interests of African-Americans. " The letter was also signed by William S. Robinson, executive director of the National African-American Tobacco Prevention Network.

In response to a reporter's query, Mr. Waxman said in a written response, "I've clearly heard the concerns that we can and should do more to address the issue of menthol in cigarettes."

For his part, Mr. Cummings, listed as one of 234 co-sponsors of the legislation along with many other members of the black caucus, said he could not predict how he or the others would vote. Mr. Cummings, who formerly served as chairman of the caucus, acknowledged that tobacco contributions might have influenced caucus members in the past.

Recently, AWMA reported that the House Subcommittee on Health had approved legislation – HR 1108 – that would provide the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with broad regulatory power to regulate all tobacco products. This measure is now slated to be considered by the full Committee on Energy and Commerce sometime during the first week of April.

Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ) spoke to students at James Monroe Elementary School today and explained how an insidious new generation of tobacco products is threatening efforts to reduce tobacco use in the United States.

…The Boston Globe notes, "McCain's longtime effort to crack down on tobacco is being put to a new test. Within weeks, the Senate is expected to vote on legislation to allow the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco. McCain agreed months ago to cosponsor the current bill with Senator Edward M. Kennedy, but McCain's policy adviser said the senator won't commit to voting for it until he sees the final legislation.

In 1998, while pushing his bill that would increase cigarette taxes by $1.10 over five years, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) argued that it was “time to put an end to” tobacco companies encouraging “children to purchase tobacco in every state in the country.” Though McCain’s bill “fell three votes short of the needed 60 to end a filibuster,” he declared at the time that he would “never” give up his efforts to regulate the industry.

FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach told food and drug lawyers today the agency is struggling with ambiguities and a lack of resources as it works to implement an agency overhaul Congress passed in the summer. Von Eschenbach praised much of the bill for the new authorities and drug-industry user fees it granted the agency but bemoaned other unfunded provisions that are causing FDA to reshuffle its deck.

The head of the Food and Drug Administration, the nation's most ubiquitous regulatory agency — which regulates products accounting for 25 cents of every consumer dollar — is crying poor. Dissatisfied with the 5.7 percent increase proposed in the Bush administration's 2009 budget, FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said in a Wall Street Journal interview that the agency is in a financial bind and that he had requested more.

Mary Agnes Carey, associate editor of CQ HealthBeat, examines legislation that would require FDA to regulate tobacco products, NIH funding, reauthorization of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and the House and Senate fiscal year 2009 budget resolutions in this week's "Health on the Hill from kaisernetwork.org and CQ."

American Lung Association Deceives Constituents in Promoting FDA Tobacco Legislation

March 10, 2008
By Michael Siegel
In an effort to promote the proposed FDA tobacco legislation, the American Lung Association (ALA) is telling its constituents and the rest of the public that the bills presently before Congress would ban all flavored cigarettes. In addition, the ALA is telling the public that the legislation would require changes in tobacco products to reduce their harm, such as reduction of harmful smoke components.

According to the ALA: "The FDA bill would ban flavored cigarettes and crack down on other marketing to our kids."

In addition: "Effective FDA authority over tobacco products will protect public health, improve consumer awareness and save lives. It will ... Require changes in tobacco products to reduce harm such as reduction of harmful components when technologically feasible."

The Rest of the Story

There are just 2 problems with the American Lung Association's statements.

First, the FDA bill does not ban all cigarette flavorings. It only bans the ones which are rarely used, such as: chocolate, cherry, banana, and strawberry. But it explicitly exempts menthol, which is overwhelmingly the chief flavoring used in United States cigarettes.

According to the most recent Federal Trade Commission cigarette report, menthol cigarettes make up 27% of the domestic cigarette market. Thus, contrary to the ALA's assertion that flavored cigarettes will be banned, the legislation will allow the sale of menthol flavored cigarettes - 27% of the current market - to continue. This is particularly concerning for the African-American community, as menthol cigarette use is high among this group and menthol is used to recruit young African-American smokers.

Second, the FDA bill does not require changes which will reduce the harm from cigarettes. In fact, it merely allows, but does not require, that FDA promulgate standards which call for the reduction or elimination of certain cigarette smoke constituents, ingredients, or additives.

Thus, the FDA could take no action at all. Moreover, the ALA has not produced any evidence whatsoever that a "safety standard" for cigarettes could produce a safer cigarette. Any such standards promulgated by the FDA will be a pure guess. But consumers will assume that cigarettes have been made safer.

In other words, the fraud that is purportedly being committed by cigarette companies in implying that certain cigarette brands are safer will now be transferred over to the federal government. And it will apply not just to specific types of cigarettes, but to all cigarettes.

Regardless of my individual opposition to the FDA legislation, I find it unethical for the American Lung Association to mislead its constituents and the public by being dishonest and deceiving them about what the legislation does and does not require.

My true feeling is that this legislation is so weak and contains so many compromises to appease Philip Morris that organizations like the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Lung Association, and the American Medical Association cannot afford to tell the truth about it. Doing so would expose it for the Philip Morris protection scam that it really is.

So it's no surprise that the American Lung Association has joined the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the American Cancer Society in being dishonest and deceptive about the FDA legislation. This appears to be their only choice if they don't want the public's perception of the bill as one that protects public health to come crumbling to the ground. But it still doesn't make it right to deceive the public.
http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/03/american-lung-association-deceives.html

Read more from Michael Siegel
http://encyclopedia.smokersclub.com/207.html