Joel Nitzkin, M.D. - arguments against the new law to have the FDA regulate the tobacco industry..

July 6, 2009 - As we all know President Obama signed into law a bill that gives the U.S. government broad regulatory power over cigarettes and other tobacco products. Obama said the law would curb the ability of tobacco companies to market their products to children.

But several public health professionals have come out strongly against the new legislation. They argue that it was largely shaped by Philip Morris, now called Altria Group, the largest cigarette company in the country.

Democracy Now speaks with Dr. Joel Nitzkin, chair of the Tobacco Control Task Force of the American Association of Public Health Physicians (AAPHP).



Reference: Up in Smoke: How the Tobacco Industry Shaped the New Smoking Bill, DemocracyNow.org, 7/2/2009.