The FDA should be allowed to regulate the tobacco» Essay Paper

Tobacco is an unproved and an unsafe drug. There has been no clinical study whatsoever, supporting its use as medicine. The FDA therefore, must apply the same rules to tobacco that it applies to other substances. Previously, there has been no way medical trials could demonstrate tobacco to be harmless or effective at treating illness. Big tobacco companies have been known to support the studies that reveal tobacco is useful. This claim however does not have any medical proof. For years, the tobacco industry has been stuffing cigarettes with hundreds of additives and chemicals like ammonia and cocoa. This has been to amplify the jolt of nicotine, develop flavor, and disguise the severity of smoke. Slight health effects of these ingredients are known since the cigarette companies are not obligated to reveal them openly or explain their function (Brandt 6).The FDA should be allowed to regulate the tobacco» Essay Paper

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About sixty years ago cigarettes had few additives. But as the tobacco industry wanted to decrease the amounts of nicotine and tar in cigarettes in reaction to escalating health concerns, they resulted to additives to balance the loss of flavor and kick. By the 1990s, additives were as much as 10% of a cigarette’s mass, according to business papers that have been made open as a product of tobacco legal action. The composition of additives in exact cigarette brands remains a big industry secret, however, scientific investigations, industry documents, and voluntary admission by tobacco companies have given some light on cigarette composition as a whole (Brandt 7).

Report by the Institute of Medicine asserts that some of the additives like sugar, cocoa, and licorice are harmless but others are lethal. For example, Ammonia is a chemical found in domestic cleaners, butane is a combustible gas often used as lighter solution, acetone is the major element in nail polish remover, and nitrate is a constituent of fertilizers and have all been acknowledged as cigarette ingredients. Experts state that the chemicals and flavors make cigarettes easier to light and flame. They also reveal that these additives smooth out tobacco smoke, and assist the body take in nicotine easily thus making cigarettes more addictive and deadly. This kind of information is concealed by the tobacco companies making it even a bigger threat to health of smokers. For this reason FDA should be allowed to regulate and expose the threats to people so that they can understand the risk involved with smoking.The FDA should be allowed to regulate the tobacco» Essay Paper

Research indicates that cigarettes are highly concealed drug delivery devices not just tobacco contained in paper. The many compounds contained in the cigarette that are unknown to many smokers are highly poisonous according to studies. The consequences of a number of elements are well known than others. Probably, the highly investigated additive is ammonia, which is present in tobacco in minute quantities and has been supplemented in cigarettes ever since the 1950s.Ammonia is alleged to increase the essence of cigarettes, but it also elevates the quantity of nicotine that smokers take into their bodies (Lynch and Bonnie 23)The FDA should be allowed to regulate the tobacco» Essay Paper

Addition of ammonia which is a base makes nicotine go into a more basic form which is more volatile and hence it comes off the tobacco more readily and easily. The FDA panel’s task is to find out which tobacco constituents present a health hazard. This is more complex than it may appear, in part because the numerous ingredients in cigarettes intermingle and may be distorted when the tobacco is burned. Moreover, additives like cocoa which seem harmless could demonstrate to be dangerous in a burning cigarette. Cocoa is harmless but when it is lit and breathed into the lungs, it becomes a lethal compound (Lynch and Bonnie 27).

An argument by the tobacco industry says that additives do not result to health problems any more than those linked with smoking in general. A report instigated by the industry in 1994 declared that 98% of the constituents put in tobacco are considered harmless by the FDA, and many are permitted as food additives. These results have been doubted by many health officers. Some companies insist that the components of tobacco are evaluated in production to make sure that nothing added increases the addictiveness or toxicity of the cigarettes.The FDA should be allowed to regulate the tobacco» Essay Paper

This could be part of the strategies by companies to promote corporate social responsibility. The arguments cannot be the basis of trust and the regulations can only be effected by the FDA (Kesmodel 30).

The revelation and law of tobacco components has been an ancient objective of public health officials and legislators. The federal administration has had lists of cigarette components for years, but it has not been able to make known the lists or limit the application of additives. Federal regulation has obligated tobacco companies to present a list of elements in their cigarettes to the United States division of Health and Human Services.  The companies however have argued that the elements are trade secrets and could be used against the company by their competitors (Kesmodel 36).

The FDA should for the first time be given the ability to control cigarette ingredients. The final aim of FDA control should be to abolish smoking or rather lessen its health risks. The goal should not to make a safer cigarette, compromising with the additives, will give a few less carcinogens. The only means to be protected from cigarette smoke is to not be exposed to it.Cigarettes is unsafe, but if the lethal elements could be identified and removed from the cigarettes, it could save the lives of smokers who are unable to quit (McGoldrick 8).

A report by Surgeon General Luther in 1964 discovered that smoking causes lung cancer and is connected with heart illness. Medical and public health officials and countless United States and communities have labored to reduce tobacco utilization and tobacco related ailments. This has been done through actions like levy, laws concerning enclosed air value, public health schooling, and trials. From 1965 through 2004, per head yearly utilization of cigarettes amid United States citizens of18 years of age or older went down from 4258 to 1814.

Nonetheless, tobacco utilization results to more than 400,000 fatalities in the United States yearly, and over 8.5 million Americans have persistent diseases linked to smoking. A national survey in 2007 revealed that one in four high school pupils said that they at that time used tobacco. Everyday, around 3900 Americans 12 to 17 years old begin smoking cigarettes; 1000 of them turn out to be habitual users. This is no doubt connected to numerous commercials and publications by the tobacco companies (Kesmodel 28).

Another reason why the FDA should regulate the tobacco industry is because smoking destroys virtually all organ of the body. In the brain, Cigarette smoking roughly doubles a person’s threat for stroke. For the eyes, smokers have a two to three times bigger threat of developing cataracts than non smokers, and which are a principal root of blindness globally. Smokers’ mouths contain more gum infection than non smokers. Reducing the utilization of cigarettes, pipes, cigars, smokeless tobacco and other tobacco goods could avert nearly all of the projected 30,200 new cases and 7,800 deaths from oral cavity and pharynx cancers.

A study conducted about the risks of smoking indicated that about 90% of lung cancer deaths in men and approximately 80% of lung cancer deaths in women are caused by cigarettes. Smoking is highly connected to a tenfold raise in the danger of dying from persistent obstreperous lung ailment. The study further asserts that cigarette smokers are three times further probable to grow coronary heart sickness than nonsmokers. Moreover, smokers are further than ten times as probable as nonsmokers to get peripheral vascular disease. Smoking results to abdominal aortic aneurysm, abdominal tumor and risks associated with peptic ulcers. With all the dangers associated with smoking, the FDA should be given the authority to control how cigarettes are produced and distributed.

Other studies reveal that smoking results to kidney and bladder cancer. It may also result to pancreatic cancer. A research carried out among older women revealed that postmenopausal females who smoke have reduced bone density. Compared to females who in no way smoked, they also have a bigger risk for hip breaking than those who do not smoke.

Smoking also results to severe myeloid leukemia. It also has numerous undesirable reproductive and premature symptoms. These includes a bigger threat for sterility, miscarriage, stillbirth, little birth weight, and abrupt newborn death syndrome. Tobacco use raises the threat of pre cancerous changes and sarcoma of the cervix.

The death and sickness caused by the employ of tobacco products, although disastrous and mind freezing in its extent, is avoidable. In this struggle against tobacco, a significant factor is the of use regulation of the sales, promotion and development of tobacco products. The United States Food and Drug Administration controls food, drugs and medical strategy that vary from macaroni and cheese to nicotine gum, to break-through treatment drugs to synthetic heart valves but not tobacco products. Extra products produced by tobacco companies and all other products containing tobacco are controlled by the FDA, except tobacco commodities. The most suitable agency to control tobacco products is the FDA. They have the precise information and skill. In addition to that, they are unprejudiced and aimed at good course. They also have years of know-how in effectively controlling consumer goods. Any law that gives the FDA power to control tobacco goods must include the following significant set of fundamentals.The FDA should be allowed to regulate the tobacco» Essay Paper

In areas of marketing and youth access, Legislation should allow FDA power concerning the sale and circulation of tobacco goods. This includes advertising, and promotion with a specific importance on marketing that attracts young people.  Statements that are misleading or false should be eliminated to the public. The rule of Youth Access and Marketing Restrictions that was established in 1996 should be adapted to aid at reducing tobacco use by youth. Legislation should include the substance of the youth access and youth marketing restrictions adopted by the FDA in 1996. This will make it easier for the agency as there will be no need to go through a new rulemaking process to implement them. Health Information Disclosure legislation should entitle FDA to receive all documents and information in the tobacco industry. This will include all the information relating to health effects of all tobacco products, nicotine and its effects on the body, addiction, marketing to children and its effects to enable the FDA to protect the public health.The FDA should be allowed to regulate the tobacco» Essay Paper

The existing FDA standard for approving drugs and devices associated with the public health standard is concerned with reasonable assurance that a product is safe and effective. Research by health professionals has indicated that there is no such thing as a safe cigarette. In addition, this proper standard for regulation of tobacco products should be the protection of the public health standard. This standard will give FDA the flexibility to reduce health risks to the American public, taking into account all relevant considerations. This standard would require consideration of whether a product change or new rule will reduce or increase tobacco use. This will also include concerns about the increasing number of new users and decreasing number of users who quit (Bethseda 26).The FDA should be allowed to regulate the tobacco» Essay Paper

Authority to reduce or eliminate harmful components legislation should grant FDA the authority to evaluate scientifically the contents of the cigarette. After evaluation, through notice and comment rulemaking FDA will decide whether to reduce or, where appropriate, eliminate the harmful and addictive components of all tobacco products. This will be based upon what will be best to protect the public health. Disclosure of ingredients authority should grant FDA authority to require the tobacco industry to provide a complete list of all tobacco ingredients and additives, by brand and by quantity.  FDA will ensure that this information will be given to the public in a manner that does not disclose legitimate trade secrets. It should further provide FDA with authority to regulate the use of any ingredient or additive that is harmful or which contributes to the harmfulness of the product. Also, the burden should be placed on tobacco manufacturers to demonstrate that each ingredient and additive is safe in the quantity used under the conditions of intended use.The FDA should be allowed to regulate the tobacco» Essay Paper

Health warnings legislation should grant FDA authority over health warnings on tobacco product packages and advertisements. This includes the power to revise and add health warnings and to alter their format. It will also entail changing their size, location, and color. This is because some companies manufacture their cigarettes to target a specific group of people making them vulnerable and helpless. Such group of people includes the youth and women with cigarettes promotions depicting them as slim and with menthol (Gardner 20).

Health claims and reduced risk products legislation should grant FDA authority over products that purport to reduce consumer health risks or serve as less harmful alternatives. This also entails the authority to evaluate scientifically whether new products are actually less harmful. It also should provide FDA authority to prohibit or restrict directly or indirectly made unsubstantiated or false or misleading health claims that are sponsored by tobacco companies and claims that discourage people from quitting or encourage them to start using tobacco. Authority over tobacco farms or tobacco grower’s legislation should make clear that FDA would have authority over tobacco farms or tobacco growing. This will grant FDA the authority to ensure that only recommended varieties of tobacco are grown. Routine regulatory and procedural fairness legislation should subject tobacco products to the same standards or procedures that are applied to other FDA regulated drugs or any other product consumed by the general public.The FDA should be allowed to regulate the tobacco» Essay Paper

Passive smoking or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) commonly known as second hand smoke happens when the exhaled and ambient smoke from one person’s cigarette is inhaled by other people. Research indicates that non smokers exposed to secondary smoke are at bigger threat for major health troubles connected with direct smoking. FDA should be given the authority to control smoking behaviors. This will lessen the threats to the general public exposed to smokers. A study about the proof present from epidemiological and other studies concerning the connection between second hand smoke and heart ailment predicted that passive smoking was to blame for over 30,000 deaths per annum in the US (Gardner 20).

Non smokers living with smokers have about a quartile per cent increase in danger of death from heart attack. They are also more probable to undergo a stroke, and some research indicates that dangers to non smokers may be even bigger than this approximation. A recent study in the British medical journal established that contact with secondary smoke heightens the dangers of heart ailment among non smokers. Passive smoking is particularly dangerous for kids and babies and can result to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS),  little birth weight babies, pneumonia,  bronchitis, and middle ear infections (Gardner 20).The FDA should be allowed to regulate the tobacco» Essay Paper

Because of health concerns associated with nicotine and tar that the companies previously put in the cigarettes, they have resulted to additives which are themselves also very risky to human health. It is reported that the additives are as much as 10% of the total weight of the cigarette. Furthermore, they have concealed the contents of these additives, citing trade secrets, so people have no way of knowing what harm is coming to them from smoking. This is reason enough to grant the FDA authority to regulate this industry including getting the details of all these contents contained in the cigarettes and making them public knowledge. Smokers have been for a long time been a nuisance to non smokers, with the ETS or the passive smoking, which coincidentally posses the same dangers to them as the smokers. Given control the FDA would ensure that the non smokers are protected and especially the innocent children who are tricked to being smokers. With all the harm that tobacco causes in the body, it’s a wonder that it is still a legal substance. The FDA should be committed to regulate tobacco with the same zeal that it does other drug substances.

Efforts to approximate the exact danger of lung cancer associated to passive smoking has been attended by some controversy.

United States environmental protection agency issued a report approximating that over 3,000 lung cancer linked deaths in the US were contributed by passive smoking annually. A research by the World Health Organization (WHO) looked into passive smoking and concluded its valuation of the carcinogenic dangers related with unintentional smoking. The research also indicated that second hand smoke also is grouped as carcinogenic to people. Moreover, weak proof of a dose response bond between danger of lung cancer and contact to spousal and workplace ETS has been found by the WHO epidemiology study. More accurately, the weakness of the proof arises from the point that the dangers of ETS for persons are little compared to the very high risk of actually smoking. A lot of professionals suppose that modest, irregular exposure to secondary smoke presents little cancer danger to non smokers. They also assert that the risk is more likely to be significant if non smokers work in an environment where cigarette smoke is prevalent.  On this basis, a lot of countries like Ireland and jurisdictions like New York State now forbid smoking in communal buildings. Many office buildings contain specially ventilated smoking areas in which some are required by law to provide them (Bethseda 25)The FDA should be allowed to regulate the tobacco» Essay Paper

Tobacco firm have been producing cigarettes with many chemicals and additives. Some of major the additives include ammonia and cocoa. Tobacco companies argue that they are meant to heighten the effect of nicotine, improve flavor, and reduce the harshness of smoke. More research continues to investigate the effects of these additives. It is not yet clear about the effects of some of the additives. It is important that FDA is allowed to regulate the tobacco industry to control the impacts of some of the additives. The government should also sponsor some of the studies to control the occurrences of compromised results by the tobacco companies (Gardner 23).The FDA should be allowed to regulate the tobacco» Essay Paper

Summary

Based on evidence presented by various health professionals, FDA should be allowed to regulate the tobacco industry. This is because the tobacco companies have in the past been given a lot of freedom and manufacture products that are a hazard to public health. The industry has been known to sponsor research meant to lure the public into using the drugs. Recently the company has increased the ammonium compounds that increase absorption of cigarette in blood. This is because they manufacture cigarettes to be addictive. The also employ obscene strategies in advertising and marketing of cigarettes where the invite kids in corporate parties to lure them to become smokers. Tobacco companies have used all means to get people to smoke. An investigation into the methods they use in promotion revealed that they use social and psychological profiling targeting potential smokers by gender, ethnicity and social economic groups. They also spend billions of money in advertising and promotion of cigarettes.The FDA should be allowed to regulate the tobacco» Essay Paper