Man is she hot or what!

Man is she hot or what!

FDA Top Doc, Dr. Janet Woodcock laments that  after 150 years of smoking controversy, the FDA has NO IDEA about the effect of nicotine on humans?

In order to help Dr. Janet Woodcock, we at SmokeShopTalk.com suggest she look no further than her own website, FDA.gov to find the answers. And what we found was interesting, particularly in the FDA’s ability (or lack thereof) to regulate nicotine as a drug. In fact, US Supreme Court Chief Gasbag Antonin Scalia agreed with Big Tobacco explaining that Congress has made it clear that it intends to deal with cigarettes, not the FDA. In other words, buzz off FDA.

1994

FDA announces it could consider regulating nicotine in cigarettes as a drug, in response to a Citizen’s Petition by the Coalition on Smoking OR Health.

1995

FDA declares cigarettes to be “drug delivery devices.” Restrictions are proposed on marketing and sales to reduce smoking by young people.

2000

The U. S. Supreme Court, upholding an earlier decision in Food and Drug Administration v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. et al., ruled 5-4 that FDA does not have authority to regulate tobacco as a drug. Within weeks of this ruling, FDA revokes its final rule, issued in 1996, that restricted the sale and distribution of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products to children and adolescents, and that determined that cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products are combination products consisting of a drug (nicotine) and device components intended to deliver nicotine to the body.

Read About the US Supreme Court case and its history here…

What we find interesting is that the US Supreme Court overturned the FDA’s ability to regulate nicotine as a drug, namely, cigarettes as ‘drug delivery devices.’ So it stands to reason that whatever Dr. Woodcock thinks of eCigs, the FDA has no authority in the matter whatsoever.

The FDA’s authority to regulate came from the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA). The FDA argued that nicotine was a “drug” and cigarettes and smokeless tobacco are “devices” that deliver nicotine to the body within the meaning of the FDCA. Congress had enacted a number of tobacco-specific laws after the FDCA, and the FDA had never exercised any control over tobacco. The Court therefore concluded that Congress did not intend to give the FDA the power to regulate tobacco, and that the regulations were therefore invalid. There is currently legislation being passed to amend the FDCA and to grant the FDA certain regulatory power and responsibilities over tobacco products in America. It has passed the house with a veto proof margin and awaits a vote from the Senate. For more information look into the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (S. 2461, H.R. 1108).

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2 Responses to “FDA's Dr. Janet Woodcock's startling admission: "We don't know what the effect of nicotine might be on the body."”

  1. I’m confused. The date on this story is July 8, 2010. The last paragraph states that the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act awaits a vote in the Senate. The “Tobacco Act” was signed into law in 2009.

  2. Dehmer says:

    really good article…

    I must say, its worth it! My link:http://www.thoughts.com/oliviagdmartin/ ,many Thanks….

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