Misleading Claims Made in America

Smokefree Pennsylvania sent the following letter to the Senate regarding the lies being told in order to benefit Philip Morris.

As a letter to the Senate this is open source – please reuse as you wish.

Smokefree Pennsylvania

1926 Monongahela Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15218

412-351-5880

FAX 351-5881

smokefree@compuserve.com

May 20, 2009

Dear Senator

Many inaccurate and misleading claims were made about the least hazardous tobacco products (smokefree) by Senators Merkley, Brown, Harkin, Dodd and others at yesterday’s markup session, which primarily benefits the deadliest tobacco product (cigarettes) and Philip Morris’ Marlboro empire, as would enactment of S. 982 (a deal negotiated by the cigarette giant and CTFK in 2004). We urge you to support the amendments (below) because they would improve public health.

Reiterating concerns in my May 7 letter, S. 982 will cause the deaths of millions of more cigarette smokers (primarily Marlboro smokers) unless amended to truthfully inform smokers that cigarettes are 100 times deadlier than smokefree tobacco/nicotine products (including dissolvable tobacco lozenges, snus and electronic cigarettes) and to allow smokers access to these less hazardous products. Switching from cigarettes to smokefree tobacco/nicotine alternatives reduces smoker’s health risks nearly as much as quitting all tobacco/nicotine use, and millions of smokers have already sharply reduced their health risks by switching to smokefree alternatives.

Dissolvable smokefree tobacco lozenges are nearly identical to GlaxoSmithKline’s dissolvable nicotine lozenges (marketed for smoking cessation). While some Senators grandstanded yesterday against tobacco products that comprise less than 1% of the market share and/or are no longer on the market, nobody expressed concerns that GSK http://www.commitlozenge.com/Commit.aspx has been marketing nearly identical nicotine lozenges in Cappuccino, Cherry and Mint flavors.

Claims that tobacco companies still target market to youth ignores the facts that youth tobacco use has declined by 50% to 65% (depending upon product and age group) in the past decade, that the Master Settlement Agreement already prohibits tobacco companies from marketing to youth, and that all 50 states already ban tobacco sales to youth under 18. In contrast to claims that S. 982 would protect youth from tobacco marketing (and Senator Brown’s criticism of a cigarette marketed to his 19 year old daughter), S. 982 would do little to further reduce youth tobacco use primarily because it prohibits the FDA from banning tobacco marketing to high school seniors (age 18). The CBO recently estimated that H.R. 1256 (Rep. Waxman’s similar bill approved by the House) would only reduce youth smoking by 11% and adult smoking by 2% during the next DECADE.

Since 1990, Smokefree Pennsylvania has advocated policies to reduce tobacco smoke pollution indoors, increase cigarette taxes, reduce tobacco marketing to youth, preserve civil justice remedies for tobacco victims, expand smoking cessation services, and inform smokers that smokefree tobacco/nicotine products are far less hazardous alternatives to cigarettes.

Sincerely,

William T. Godshall, MPH

Executive Director

- – -

* Amendments to S. 982 (Kennedy FDA tobacco bill) endorsed by Smokefree Pennsylvania because they would benefit public health.

Amendment Purpose

Burr #1 Complete substitute – new HHS office

* Burr #2 Change “public health” standard to “reduce youth tobacco use” standard

* Burr #3 Smokeless tobacco carveout

* Burr #4 Require reductions in tobacco illness and death

* Coburn #1 Internet sales

Coburn #2 No tobacco program, unless existing FDA products are certified safe

* Coburn #3 Including Native American retailers and manufacturers

* Coburn #4 7 year hard sunset

Coburn #5 E-cigarette carveout

Coburn #6 Medical marijuana

* Coburn #7 GAO study on metrics

Coburn #8 If youth smoking increases 3 years in a row, sunset

* Coburn #9 PACT Act

* Enzi #1 Move tobacco regulation to CDC

* Enzi #2 Higher civil penalties for tobacco companies

* Enzi #3 Menthol and health disparities

* Enzi #4 Imminent hazard authority

* Enzi #5 Strike adverse event reporting and require DSMB

Enzi #6 Premium incentive for cessation

Enzi #7 Reissue 1996 rule

* Enzi #8 Indexing user fees in outyears

Enzi #9 Strike findings

* Hagan #1 To ensure that performance standards are based on achievable technology

Hagan #2 No FDA on the farm

Hagan #3 Roll your own

Hagan #4 Definition of small manufacturer

Hagan #5 Testing only in US labs

Hagan #6 Definition of characterizing flavor

Hatch #1 No effect of Act unless FDA gets sufficient funding for major functions

Hatch #2 No effect of Act unless FDA gets sufficient funding for device review

Hatch #3 No effect of Act unless FDA gets sufficient funding for biologics review

Hatch #4 No effect of Act unless FDA gets sufficient funding for the Office of Generic Drugs

Hatch #5 No effect of Act unless FDA gets sufficient funding for drug evaluation and review

Hatch #6 HHS certification for tobacco importation

* Hatch #7 Standard for reduced risk products

Hatch #8 Appropriations trigger – all FDA

Hatch #9 Appropriations trigger – food safety

* Hatch #10 Performance and financial reports

* Hatch #11 Report on impact of program on SCHIP

McCain #1 No use of military TSP as pay for

Merkley/Brown #1 Dissolvable tobacco products

* Murkowski #1 Track and trace for tobacco

Kennedy #1 No implied seal, repeat Enzi warning labels

Kennedy #2 No implied seal of approval

- – -

Phone and fax numbers for Senate HELP Cmte members, and an e-mail address to contact all members of the committee.

Senate HELP Committee Phone Fax

Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) 202-224-5465 202-224-5128

Chairman

Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT) 202-224-2823 202-224-1083

Tom Harkin (D-IA) 202-224-3254 202-224-9369

Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) 202-224-4654 202-224-8858

Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) 202-224-5521 202-224-2852

Patty Murray (D-WA) 202-224-2621 202-224-0238

Jack Reed (D-RI) 202-224-4642 202-224-4680

Bernie Sanders (I-VT) 202-224-5141 202-228-0776

Sherrod Brown (D-OH) 202-224-2315 202-224-6519

Robert P Casey, Jr (D-PA) 202-224-6324 202-228-0604

Kay Hagan (D-NC) 202-224-6342 202-228-2563

Jeff Merkley (D-OR) 202-224-3753 202-228-3997

Michael Enzi (R-WY) 202-224-5375 202-224-6510

Ranking Member

Judd Gregg (R-NH) 202-224-3324 202-224-4952

Lamar Alexander (R-TN) 202-224-4944 202-228-3398

Richard Burr (R-NC) 202-224-3154 202-228-2981

Johnny Isakson (R-GA) 202-224-3643 202-228-0724

John McCain (R-AZ) 202-224-2235 202-228-2862

Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) 202-224-6665 202-224-5301

Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) 202-224-5251 202-224-6331

Pat Roberts (R-KS) 202-224-4774 202-224-3514

Tom Coburn (R-OK) 202-224-5754 202-224-6008

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