The Stinky Tobacco Deal

[Guest guest]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/16/opinion/16FRI2.html?th

 

July 16, 2004

The Stinky Tobacco Deal

 

Federal regulation of the tobacco industry is long

overdue, and tobacco growers shouldn't be paid a huge

ransom just so Congress feels it can do the right

thing. But that is precisely the deal unfolding on

Capitol Hill. The Senate overwhelmingly voted last

night to grant the Federal Drug Administration

jurisdiction over the tobacco industry, a long-overdue

move. But the price for getting senators from

tobacco-growing states on board is an unseemly $12

billion handout to tobacco growers, who have already

been coddled for far too long by protectionist quotas

meant to keep out cheaper foreign-grown tobacco.

 

This compromise at the heart of the unusual alliance

struck between antismoking advocates and tobacco

farmers is ill advised. It creates a disastrous

precedent for a nation that direly needs to start

dismantling other crop supports, both for domestic

budgetary reasons and to comply with international

trade laws.

 

The F.D.A.'s lack of jurisdiction over tobacco is an

absurdity. But this is no way to give it the authority

it deserves. Almost comically, the tobacco deal has

been attached to a bill that was supposed to remove a

corporate tax credit for exporters. That credit was

ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization, and

American exporters now face mounting punitive tariffs

while Congress dithers. Unfortunately, that

theoretically simple legislation has since become a

major magnet for pork.

 

Over on the House side, things get only worse. The

House has approved a bailout for tobacco farmers while

rejecting F.D.A. oversight over the industry. It

lighted up the bad quid and didn't bother with the

good quo. Moreover, the House version would have the

taxpayers pick up the tab, but the Senate bill puts

the burden on cigarette manufacturers.

 

The F.D.A., which does regulate products that help

people quit smoking, should be able to regulate the

sale, marketing and manufacturing of tobacco products,

with a particular eye toward keeping children from

becoming addicted. Federal regulation could allow a

ban on flavored cigarettes; sterner package warnings

could be required, along with an accurate list of

ingredients; cigarette marketing in magazines could be

limited to black-and-white ads; and vending machine

sales could be banned in places accessible to

teenagers.

 

The proposed F.D.A. power over tobacco represents a

rare sliver of public interest in the pork-drenched

corporate bill. A more responsible Congress would have

approved tobacco regulation as a stand-alone victory

for the public. A more responsible Congress could make

a simple fix in the tax law without allowing half the

lobbyists in Washington to pile on their pet

proposals. But not this one.

 

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company