New Smoking Industry Bans and Restrictions Are Now in Effect on the United States Federal Level
July 2, 2010 Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis 
Cartoon courtesy of quit guide.com.
As we’ve just hit the one year anniversary of the U.S. Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, several new bans and limits against the industry are now in effect as of that date.
Among the newly effective provisions, the U.S. Federal Food and Drug Administration - which regulates tobacco products - has prohibited the advertising or labeling of tobacco products with the descriptions ‘light, mild, or low,’ without agency approval.
In a speech last month to an audience from the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Lawrence Deyton, the director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, explained that the “FDA has the authority to enforce truth in advertising.
“For example, we know the harm done by the use of the terms ‘light, low, and mild.’ I’ve really got to hand it to the industry, this was a hugely effective marketing strategy. So effective, millions of smokers came to believe that switching to a brand labeled as ‘light, low, or mild’ is the next best thing to quitting.
“Of course, we know that was just a gimmick. There is no demonstrable difference to the public health and population health by the use of those products. That’s why, effective June 22, (2010) we will ban the manufacture of cigarettes labeled as ‘light, low, and mild,’ without FDA approval.”
Philip Morris USA - one of the first to announce compliance with the new regulations - agrees with the FDA, saying that, “No aspect of any of our cigarettes should be interpreted as suggesting that any cigarette is less risky or results in less exposure to harmful compounds than any other cigarette.
Graphic courtesy of Edinboro University.
“The amount of tar, nicotine, or other constituents in (the) smoke a smoker inhales from a cigarette can vary based upon how a smoker smokes. The amount a smoker inhales will be higher, for example, if a smoker blocks ventilations holes, inhales more deeply, takes more puffs, or smokes more cigarettes. There is no safe cigarette. If smokers are concerned about the risks of cigarette smoking, the best thing is to quit.”