Senate to let FDA Regulate Tobacco:"Thank you Capt. Obvious"

Dee dee dit dee dee dit dee dee dee...Breaking news today from the Associated Press:

"Washington--The Senate votes Thursday on legislation that for the first time would give the government control over the production and marketing of tobacco products, a long-sought goal that supporters say could save lives and millions in health care dollars."

"According to Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, "We're going to be able to protect millions of children and Americans from deadly tobacco-related disease.' The bill would allow the FDA to require changes to nicotine yields and other chemicals in cigarettes and other tobacco products, although it could not ban nicotine. It would require tobacco companies to provide detailed lists of ingredients and any changes in those ingredients."

I read that and started coughing so hard I had to put out my cigarette.

This is just a bunch of hooey. Remember when Dr. David Kessler was the Commissioner of the FDA during the H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations? Naw, you probably don't. He got in trouble for suggesting that cigarettes be designated a "drug delivery device" and as such be regulated by the FDA. Big Trouble! But he was absolutely, dead solid right. So now we get this watered down stuff that says the FDA can regulate some of the content of cigarettes.

Geesh, when is the government going to realize (in spite of the tobacco industry's posturing, lobbying and spending) that these things are killers? The only thing they are made for is to get people addicted to nicotine. Nicotine, in and of itself, is relatively harmless but it's the way the nicotine gets into the system that is the killer.

Anyone who knows me knows that I smoke like a chimney on a cold night. Yeah, I'm addicted and I've yet to permanently quit. It would be nice for the government to do the right thing once in a while. Kessler was right. But so was George Carlin who also said, "Cigarette companies market heavily to young people. They need young customers because their product kills the older ones. It is the only product that, if used as intended, kills the customer."

Isn't it nice to know that the Congress and FDA are looking out for our best interests!

To quote George Carlin again, "Thank you Captain Obvious."