Guess Who Helped Write The New Tobacco Bill ?

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama said Friday he looked forward to signing a bill that would give the Food and Drug Administration power to regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco.

In related news, President Barack Obama also said he looked forward to signing a bill that would allow cops to pull drivers over for killing pedestrians.

Good lord in heaven....the government has controlled the manufacturing of cancer sticks for years, and even supported tobacco growers with subsidies until a few years ago. They already control the marketing of cigarettes (remember when cigarette commercials were on TV?)



And unless I'm mistaken, Uncle Sam already controls the sale of tobacco. Try bringing in a lot of smokes from China or Canada. Or Cuba.

The legislation would give the FDA power to ban candy and fruit-flavored cigarettes, widely considered appealing to first-time smokers, including youths. It would prohibit tobacco companies from using terms such as "low tar," "light" or "mild," require larger warning labels on packages, and restrict advertising of tobacco products.

And here's the Associated Press on Obama's take on the legislation:

President Barack Obama, admittedly still struggling with his own nicotine habit, saluted passage of the bill, which he will soon sign. He said, "For over a decade, leaders of both parties have fought to prevent tobacco companies from marketing their products to children and provide the public with the information they need to understand what a dangerous habit this is."

As usual, it's for "the children...."

Ok, kids. Pull up a chair. Got your pens and notebooks ready? Good. Yes, Johnny, it's ok to smoke in class.

Let's pretend that we're the CEO's of Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds, our two biggest tobacco companies and let's pretend that Big Bad Barack is going to restrict our advertising budgets even more.

Does this make you angry if you're a Big Tobacco CEO ? No, it doesn't.

Why do businesses advertise? Several reasons. Partly to attract first-time buyers, and partly to attract people who have been buying other brands for years.

Who has to do the most advertising? New businesses, or businesses with new product lines.

What's one way to guarantee that no new competitors will enter a marketplace? Ban advertising.

What company helped write some of the latest anti-tobacco legislation?

You'll
Never
Guess.


Pics of the Hot Smokin' Teleprompter Jesus from here and here.
For another post that explains the concept of "Regulatory Capture", an economics concept explaining why regulators almost always turns into defenders of their industries, go here.