Government Regulation of Tobacco Products

Government Regulation of Tobacco Products.

Regulation of tobacco products has been an ongoing battle for years. Tobacco companies do not want any type of regulations, but there is one company that is a quiet supporter of the regulations and that company is called Altria Group, which is a parent company of Phillip Morris and they believe they can handle regulation, they just don't want to have tobacco outlawed for good.

While Altria is trying to support a bill being passed by the government, Reynolds America, the parent company of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company was at arm's length and attacking the FDA ( Federal Drug Administration). They said that the FDA was not going to be able to enforce regulations on tobacco, the main reason being that the FDA is already busy with trying to keep up with the food and drug safety that adding tobacco would be too much for them to handle. Altria does not want tobacco to be outlawed altogether just have some guidelines to go by.

Hundreds of thousands of people die each year due to tobacco use. Smoking and exposure to smoke cause more than 440,000 deaths each year. Nicotine is like any other drug and is very addictive and kids are being shown that it is cool to smoke in cartoons and they see flavored cigarettes and think it is neat to smoke. Kids don't worry about the lasting effects of smoking such as COPD, lung cancer, and breathing disorders that come with smoking they just want to be cool. :The new law provided the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the power not only to forbid advertising geared toward children, but also to regulate what is in cigarettes" (Lawrence & Weber, 2011, pg 191).

Reynolds does not want the regulations at all, they seem to think that eventually tobacco will be illegal. Altria wants the regulations to set standards when it comes to what is in cigarettes and not aiming ads towards children, Altria just wants it to be safer and not so easy for kids to see and get a hold of.

Public Policy on tobacco use is world wide. About all countries have stopped television, radio, magazines, and newspapers ads selling cigarettes and they also have to have a health warning on all cigarette packs and cartons. In about all countries you have to be at least 18 years of age to buy cigarettes and several countries have banned smoking in public areas such as restaurants, bars, workplaces, beaches and other public locations so second hand smoke is no longer an issue and just about all public transportation has banned smoking.

The government so far is not taking away your right to smoke, just where you are allowed to smoke and in a way it is not a bad thing. It is common courtesy if your around someone who does not smoke to put out the cigarette or go away from that person out of respect and you should not have to be told to do so.