Ban on Flavored Cigarettes Makes Big Tobacco’s Job a Little Bit Easier
Let the hoarding commence. In news that is sure to outrage smokers everywhere—and coincidentally should outrage anyone concerned with preserving their freedom of choice and combating the money-grubbing-vice-grip lobbyist have on the country’s legislative body—the wheels have been set in motion to ban flavored and clove cigarettes.
As part of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act that President Obama signed into law June 22, starting today, the selling of flavored or clove cigarettes will be illegal, reports Examiner.Com. Though the law is being touted as an attempt to strike a blow at tobacco companies targeting younger generations with kid-friendly flavors, the statistics just don’t match up.
A major champion for this pretty piece of legislation is Philip Morris, the manufacturer of Marlboro cigarettes, coincidentally the brand 52 percent of teen smokers say they prefer according to a report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which came out in articles like this one from MSNBC back in February before the law was passed.
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems a tad bit difficult to protect people’s health through legal avenues when the very people endangering it are helping write the legislation.
