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o Cigarettes and other forms of tobacco are addicting. 



Nicotine is the drug in tobacco that causes addiction. 



The pharmacological and behavioral processes that determine tobacco 

 addiction are similar to those that determine addiction to drugs such as 

 heroin and cocaine. 



Because of the lack of regulation of tobacco products due to specific statutory 

 exemptions or to interpretations of the limits of the FDCA, as well as lack of 

 action on the part of the FDA, the tobacco industry has remained free to continue 

 to manufacture, promote and advertise their products without meaningful 

 regulation, so long as their only purpose was to sell the product for smoking 

 pleasure only. Each year the tobacco industry spends over $4 billion dollars to 

 market their products, making the number one preventable cause of death also 

 this nation's most heavily marketed consumer product. Free samples of cigarettes 

 and other tobacco products are routinely handed out to young people on streets, 

 at rock concerts, at sporting events and through the mail. Rarely is there 

 verification from the tobacco manufacturer that the tobacco producf has been 

 given out to someone of legal buying age - 18 or above in all states. No federal 

 agency has taken the responsibility to ensure the proper labeling, distribution, 

 sale and advertising of these products. 



The Food and Drug Administration, charged with protecting the public from 

 misbranded and adulterated products, would obviously not allow such practices to 

 be carried out for a prescription drug such as "valium" or for nicotine-containing 

 drugs such as Nicorette gum and the transdermal nicotine patches. Such 

 allowances would amount to the sanctioning and promoting of drug abuse - an 

 absurd notion by any standard. Yet, that is exactly what has been allowed to 

 occur with tobacco products. 



