I got an email this morning from the FDA that contained this bummer of a statement: “[C]igarettes are the only legal consumer product that, when used as intended, will kill half of all long-term users.”
It’s not news, but it’s true.
If somebody invented cigarettes today, I hope that we would all laugh their makers off the internet and get them in trouble with, I dunno, the FDA or something. A thing you burn, that creates annoying smoke, and will kill you if you keep using it? And it’s addictive, designed to make you want to keep using it? There is no reason for cigarettes to be legal. Maybe you don’t like the government telling you what to do, but currently the cigarette companies are the ones telling you what to do.
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Specifically, they are telling you that it is a-ok, even cool, to light some carcinogens on fire and inhale the smoke. As a bonus, you’re messing with the lungs and brains of people who come near you. Why the hell would you want to do that?
The FDA is very, very belatedly dealing with the situation (how long have we known cigarettes are useless death sticks?) and have chosen an oblique way. The FDA announced last year that they have the authority to regulate the level of nicotine in cigarettes, and they intend to set a limit that is below the level of what’s addictive. If you have opinions on this, great! They recently opened up a docket for public comments.
If this goes forward, you won’t even have the excuse that you’re smoking because you’re addicted. You will literally be filling your lungs with garbage smoke for no reason. Good luck to the tobacco companies, who will probably still find a way to market the heck out of this.
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