Word: fda
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Brown & Williamson and Loews Corp.'s Lorillard--reached a resolution with the attorneys general of nearly 40 states in which the industry will pay out $368.5 billion over the next quarter-century in compensation, drastically alter their marketing programs and submit to the regulatory heel of the FDA...
...crucial element is the extent of the FDA's regulatory control over the way cigarettes are manufactured and packaged. All the marketing restrictions in the deal will amount to little if the product remains as deadly as ever. And since the entire scientific case against smoking is premised on dose-related data (e.g., the stronger the yields of the harmful ingredients in each cigarette and the greater the smoker's total intake of them, the higher the risk of dying prematurely), all medical logic suggests that forcing the manufacturers to reduce the toxic potency of their product could significantly reduce...
Unless this empowerment--to control not only the nicotine content of cigarettes, already approved by a federal court, but their tar, carbon monoxide, carcinogenic flavorings and other additives as well--is a basic part of the deal and not conditioned on the FDA's having to meet evidentiary standards of the industry's devising, the whole settlement package is a toothless wonder and should be tabled. Even granted essential regulatory muscle, the FDA needs both the resolve to carry forward its regimen and the funding to do it properly; perhaps revenues from a higher federal cigarette tax should be earmarked...
Meanwhile, competition is heating up. Last month an FDA advisory panel recommended approval of a drug called orlistat that works on the gut instead of the brain--reducing caloric intake by blocking the body's ability to absorb fat. Orlistat has its problems--its side effects include intestinal leakage. That doesn't mean orlistat will not be a big seller, at least at first. But if folks buy it expecting weight-loss miracles, they are bound to be as disappointed next year as Redux users are today...
...years for anti-smoking activists to strike a deal with big tobacco, but less than a day for people to start picking it apart. Criticism of the landmark settlement -- in which tobacco companies will pay out $368.5 billion over the next 25 years, strictly limit advertising, and agree to FDA regulation -- began even before a group of state attorneys general announced the deal last Friday afternoon. The American Lung Association expressed doubts that the deal would really curtail tobacco's ability to target children, and strongly urged negotiators not to accept it. And as the specifics of the settlement emerged...