2 agencies join effort seeking tobacco regulation

United Methodist News Service
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Two United Methodist agencies have joined 24 other religious groups in an effort to support federal regulation of tobacco products.
The General Commission on United Methodist Men and the General Board of Church and Society are urging a congressional subcommittee to back the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
The pending legislation would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to restrict tobacco advertising, regulate warning labels, remove hazardous ingredients from cigarettes or
reduce nicotine levels.
“This is the fifth regional meeting designed to bring grassroots support for the legislation,” said Vinny DeMarco, national coordinator of Faith United Against Tobacco, during an Aug. 28 news conference at West End UMC, Nashville.
The interfaith effort is supported by religious groups ranging from the Islamic Society of North America to the Southern Baptist Convention. A letter from leaders of 25 faith groups was sent in July to all members of Congress urging them to support FDA regulation of tobacco legislation.
“Four-hundred-thousand Americans die annually from diseases related to smoking, and 1,000 children become addicted to tobacco products every day,” said Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.
“We have a moral imperative to safeguard men, women and children from falling victim to tobacco addiction. Dog food is more regulated than tobacco, and products designed to help people stop smoking are regulated by the FDA, while tobacco is not.”
The Rev. David Adams, top staff executive of the Nashville-based General Commission on United Methodist Men, recalled how he and a friend snuck Winston cigarettes from his mother in the fourth grade, then ate dill pickles after smoking them to hide the tobacco smell. He said his mother died of cancer at age 46 and that other relatives who smoked also died of cancer at relatively young ages.
Courtney Wilson, a high school student and youth advocate for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), said students at her Nashville area high school don’t even wait until they leave school grounds before they light up.
“Tobacco companies spend $406 million just in Tennessee to market products such as candy-flavored cigarettes,” said Wilson, noting that studies show 90 percent of smokers are addicted before age 19. “If the FDA regulated the product, the agency would outlaw such products.”
Bishop Marsha Thomas, episcopal leader of the House of God Church in Tennessee, said, “Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S.” She expressed particular concern for members of her African-American denomination because members of that ethnic group die at a higher rate than Anglo Americans.
Dr. Chuck Womack, a physician and a member of the American Heart Association, said that if the FDA regulated tobacco, the agency would prohibit cigarette companies from using such terms as “light” or “low tar.” The FDA would require tobacco companies to list their toxic contents and health effects.
Records list 196 members of the U.S. House of Representatives as co-sponsors of HR 1108. The bill is now in the Subcommittee on Health of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. A similar Senate bill (S625) is co-sponsored by 53 senators and passed the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Aug. 1.