I spoke and voted against H.R. 1108, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, because it was an ill-conceived, unfair and unrealistic attempt to add additional regulatory control over a legal product.  For too many years, tobacco has become a convenient whipping boy here on Capitol Hill.  It may not be fashionable today, but I am proud to represent the thousands of residents of the 6th District of North Carolina who make their living from the golden leaf.

I think it is wrong-headed to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) jurisdiction over tobacco. The FDA is an over-burdened, under-funded bureaucracy that needs to focus more effectively on its core mission of protecting our food supply and bringing new and helpful medicines to the public.  To ask the FDA to take on regulatory oversight of the tobacco industry makes no sense to me.

The bill, which passed the House on Wednesday is misguided, and in my opinion will not achieve the goals identified by its supporters.  Instead, I believe it will further exacerbate an already stretched FDA, negatively impact manufacturers and farmers, and create a strain on federal revenues to the Treasury.

Tobacco is a product that is lawfully grown, lawfully manufactured, lawfully marketed, and lawfully consumed.  We don’t need the FDA inserting its oars into these waters.  If this bill makes its way to the President’s desk, I hope he will veto it.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 at 2:53 pm and is filed under Politics .