think about it, other than ban cigarette flavors and put some advertising restrictions on them, what have they done that's remotely productive since they've gotten authority to regulate tobacco products? I'm already seeing a mountain of things the FDA is doing wrong, some of which is even angering the most rabid of anti-smoking organizations. The whole thing with dissolvable tobacco is really going to screw them over in the end. there is no way in hell they could regulate this stuff as drugs like they're trying to do with E-cigs, because unlike E-cigs, this is actual tobacco. Even the CTFK doesn't like this move. Regulating this as a drug wouldn't accomplish anything but lining the FDA's pockets with the fees required to do so. This is obviously a ploy to take the safer product off the market before it threatens sales, which granted, the public wouldn't see it that way, but this is our chance to say "hey look, the FDA is only concerned with their own financial interests by trying to cash in on something that is clearly a tobacco product by trying to regulate it as something else". The next reason the FDA may be liable to be stripped of their tobacco regulating powers is something they have even less of an excuse for: not regulating cigars or pipe tobacco. what the hell is this? there is no possible way they could say they can't regulate either of these products! In fact, I don't see why they aren't! these products can both be just as bad as cigarettes if done on a regular basis (granted both of these products see a lot more casual use than cigs), so why WOULDN'T the FDA be just as up their butts as with cigarettes? The only possible reason I can think of is that they're working with big tobacco's interests. The final piece of evidence I have in my arsenal is this article, posted by Vocalek (thanks for posting this in that other thread, it was a good read!) http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/30/loophole-creates-toothless-tobacco-ban/ this proves that the FDA is truly protecting the interests of big tobacco, and not standing up to big tobacco like the government and FDA would have the public believe.
My conclusion is this: we should campaign to get the tobacco control act repealed. if the public realized how incompetent and corrupt the FDA has been in regulating tobacco products, there would be political pressure to get congress to take their power to regulate tobacco away. and if the FDA can't regulate tobacco products, they cannot TOUCH e-cigs. there are so many things that the FDA have done that are in their interests and theirs alone that simply need to be brought to the attention of the public. I understand how hard this would be, but it's going to be even harder to convince the FDA to leave our PVs alone. We have to focus now on the FDA's actual authority to regulate tobacco. this may not work over night but in the next few years the FDA will pull more crap they can't do and it'll give us more and more ammunition to use against them.
My conclusion is this: we should campaign to get the tobacco control act repealed. if the public realized how incompetent and corrupt the FDA has been in regulating tobacco products, there would be political pressure to get congress to take their power to regulate tobacco away. and if the FDA can't regulate tobacco products, they cannot TOUCH e-cigs. there are so many things that the FDA have done that are in their interests and theirs alone that simply need to be brought to the attention of the public. I understand how hard this would be, but it's going to be even harder to convince the FDA to leave our PVs alone. We have to focus now on the FDA's actual authority to regulate tobacco. this may not work over night but in the next few years the FDA will pull more crap they can't do and it'll give us more and more ammunition to use against them.
