There is an important bill that has already been passed by the House and the Senate will vote on it in just a couple of weeks. The bill places tobacco regulation under the auspices of the FDA. This is probably appropriate. What other product, when used as intended, has such a strong impact on one’s health and longevity?
This will of course have an effect on the economics of smoking. Thus, it will be probably be hotly contested by some.
Dr. David M. Burns, retired medical professor at University of CA, an antismoking activist, has released a summary of his findings which are not yet published by a peer review journal. (In light of Merck and the disclosure of other instances of $$$ incentives, I would ask ‘who cares?’)
Dr. Burn’s contention is that the curing process used here in the US increases the level of a known carcinogen called nitrosamines. Over the past 50 years, the rate of the most common type of lung cancer, adenocarcinoma, has continued to rise in the United States.
According to the Times numbers, 400,000 Americans die each year of lung cancer. In addition to the personal suffering, think of how this impacts the cost of health care.
“You really can’t work on something that is going to kill a billion people in this century and not be an advocate for tobacco control” according to Dr. Michael J. Thune, American Cancer Society.
