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Senator Mike Enzi [6], ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions [7] (HELP), confirmed [8] May 21 that cigarette maker Philip Morris [9] co-authored the bill currently under consideration in Congress, for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [10] (FDA) to regulate tobacco products. Enzi was rebuffed in efforts to amend the bill to move regulatory authority over tobacco to the Centers for Disease Control [11] (CDC), saying the CDC was more appropriate since the "FDA cures, not poisons." Enzi criticized the HELP Committee's rush to "sign a peace treaty with Philip Morris," instead of "fighting tobacco head on." He said, "My fierce opposition to smoking is a result of smoking killing my dad, and my mom, and my mother-in-law, and secondhand smoke [12] conclusively affecting me." The FDA tobacco bill [13] has been criticized by the American Association of Public Health Physicians (pdf) [14] and FDA Commissioner [15] Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach [16], as tying the FDA's hands while misleading consumers and cementing Philip Morris' market share. Philip Morris began its "Regulatory Strategy Project [17]" -- a long-term, behind-the-scenes project [18] to enact "regulations" friendly to the company -- in 1999, after the Supreme Court struck down a government-initiated effort to regulate tobacco. Philip Morris' crafting the bill behind closed doors with the National Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids [19] was also described by Roll Call [20], back in October 2004.
Links:
[1] http://dev.prwatch.org/users/5684/anne-landman
[2] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/us-government/us-congress
[3] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/lobbying
[4] http://dev.prwatch.org/topics/tobacco
[5] http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fdev.prwatch.org%2Fspin%2F2009%2F05%2F8393%2Fsenator-reveals-philip-morris-co-authored-fda-tobacco-bill&linkname=Senator%20Reveals%20Philip%20Morris%20Co-Authored%20FDA%20Tobacco%20Bill
[6] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Mike_Enzi
[7] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Senate_Committee_on_Health,_Education,_Labor,_and_Pensions
[8] http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2340845/
[9] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Philip_Morris
[10] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Food_and_Drug_Administration
[11] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Centers_for_Disease_Control
[12] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/secondhand_smoke
[13] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/FDA_tobacco_bill
[14] http://www.aaphp.org/special/joelstobac/cmbndnov5_08letters.pdf
[15] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/06/AR2007030600583.html
[16] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Andrew_von_Eschenbach
[17] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Regulatory_Strategy_Project
[18] http://www.prwatch.org/node/7328
[19] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Campaign_for_Tobacco-Free_Kids
[20] http://www.rollcall.com/issues/50_39/news/7035-1.html?type=printer_friendly