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Why does the left seem to have a desire to ban everything that is enjoyable or convenient? Gas stoves, dishwashers, plastic straws, gas cars, snowmobiles, diving boards, and now they want to ban certain cigars. It’s becoming ridiculous.
A group of senators, led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), recently wrote a letter to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, urging the agency to ban or heavily regulate the sale of flavored cigars. Under pressure from health advocates, the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products has expressed its intention to take action in the near future. Their argument is that underage teenagers are smoking these cigars and are at risk of addiction.
This is as logical as banning scotch because kids might steal a bottle from their father’s liquor cabinet, or outlawing R-rated movies because 14-year-olds occasionally sneak into theaters to watch them.
In 2009, Congress and President Barack Obama passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which aimed to prevent children from accessing cigarettes, vapes, and other addictive tobacco products. However, the FDA is now using this authority to push its own political agenda beyond the original purpose of the legislation.
The claim that the FDA needs to act in order to stop teenagers from smoking flavored cigars is simply not true.
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The number of young people smoking cigars, including flavored cigars, has significantly decreased over the years. The FDA should be aware of this because they funded a comprehensive study published in The New England Journal of Medicine. This study analyzed the tobacco use of 13,651 children aged 12 to 17 and found that only 2.3% had ever smoked a traditional cigar, and less than 1% (0.7%) had tried one in the past 30 days. There is no epidemic of cigar-smoking youngsters.
Last year, a federal judge ruled that the FDA’s attempt to regulate premium cigars was “arbitrary and capricious” because the agency failed to acknowledge that these products are not used by youth and have different health risks due to their usage patterns. This court ruling, which questions the scientific basis of the FDA’s actions, raises further doubts about the agency’s determination to finalize its flavored cigar rule by the fall.
What is evident here is a case of regulatory overreach by an unelected federal agency. Opponents of the 2009 law warned that the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act would lead to bans on smoking products for adults, and now it seems their concerns have become a reality.
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I should note that I am not a smoker, except on very rare occasions like weddings. However, even if you dislike cigars or smoking in general, it is important to recognize the danger of allowing unelected bureaucrats to make decisions that affect personal freedoms. Who are they accountable to?
January 13, 2020: FDA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
(iStock)
If Congress wants to ban vaping, smoking, or certain types of cigars, they should vote on it. I doubt that many members of Congress would dare to vote for a cigar ban because it would trigger a significant backlash from smoking enthusiasts, potentially leading to their removal from office.
What is even more ironic and hypocritical is that the real health hazard to America’s youth lies in the proliferation of toxic drugs, such as fentanyl, opioids, and cocaine. The abuse of these drugs has made drug overdoses a leading cause of death among Americans under 18. However, Congress seems to do nothing about this genuine epidemic of death.
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They do not take action to prevent drug traffickers from crossing the border with their dangerous and addictive arsenal. When offenders are caught, they receive mild punishments. Where is the FDA’s campaign to stop this destruction? Flavored cigars may not be beneficial to our children, but they certainly do not turn them into zombies or corpses.
If the FDA truly wants to improve public health, they should expedite the drug approval process to save tens of thousands of lives by winning the race to cure diseases like cancer, heart disease, epilepsy, and diabetes. Let parents take responsibility for regulating their teenagers’ behavior.
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