Government Regulation of Tobacco Products

The orientation of the Reynolds's company toward tobacco regulation was at arm's length. They felt the FDA was incapable of enforcing the new tobacco law. The company ran a series of ads showing a routine to illustrate that the FDA was overwhelmed and already was unable to properly oversee its core mission of ensuring food and drug safety to consumers. The FDA's own scientific experts warned that the FDA cannot do their job properly and warn that lives could be at risk. William V. Corr, an executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, felt that Reynolds was marketing these ads to consumers because they were the worst offenders when it came to marketing tobacco to children. Altria, on the other hand, was very cooperative when it came towards the regulations of tobacco smoking. They supported the law since they figured it was going to pass anyway and they wanted a "seat at the table" while the bill was being discussed by Congress. Most importantly they wanted to make sure that cigarettes would not be outlawed entirely, which was a provision of an early bill. What explains the difference between the two companies is that Reynolds was very uncooperative in their stance. Instead of sitting down with Congress, like Altria did, they alienated themselves from being able to help dictate how they law could be written to help the company. Altria was able to keep the FDA from banning nicotine from cigarettes but instead the FDA could mandate a reduction in the levels of this addictive chemical. Also, they could not promote colorful advertisements that would appeal to children and no advertisements were allowed 1,000 feet of all schools and playgrounds. Even though the Altria felt this was a financial risk to their company and might violate the companies' rights to free speech, they were still able to make cigarettes.

First there's the low-hanging fruit: light and ultralight labels will be off tobacco products. Graphic warning labels will be bigger. Companies will be required to identify the toxicants in tobacco. A lot more states will be smoke-free. You'll also see changes in how products are advertised. You might see product innovations, such as pharmacological products or nicotine delivery products [that bypass some of the harmful effects of smoking]. Reducing the nicotine levels in tobacco products will take much longer because there are a lot of scientific questions to resolve first.

http://www.mmf.umn.edu/cancer/mccn/2009/fall/tobacco.cfm

Lawrence, A.T., & Weber, J. (2011). Business and society: Stakeholders, ethics, public policy (13th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

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