One of the stranger rules included in new Food and Drug Administration's regulations against the cigar industry is the prohibition of donating cigars to our military men and women. The purpose of the new regulations, we're told, is to keep cigars away from children, even though kids aren't trying to get their hands on cigars.
Which makes the military donation ban even odder, since we're not sending minors to fight in wars.
Now the Wall Street Journal editorial board has weighed in on this aspect of the regulations. In an editorial last Thursday, the board called the ban on cigar companies donating cigars to soldiers "crazy," and noted that this was an attempt from the FDA to gain regulatory control of the tobacco industry.
WSJ also noted that back when the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which led to these regulations, was passed, President Obama said the law would protect kids but would "allow adults to make their own choices."
In fact, the law is taking away the choice of soldiers to smoke free cigars provided by the cigar industry.
"It would be hard to find a man or woman in uniform who doesn't know that smoking is risky. Then again so is combat," WSJ wrote. "Meanwhile, the ban on cigar donations takes away the ability of these adults to make their own choices, contrary to President Obama's explicit promise."
WSJ also writes that Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., is working on an amendment that would overturn the ban. This would be another bill trying to chip away at the regulations, as Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson in the Senate, along with Florida Rep. Bill Posey in the House, are introducing bills that would exempt premium cigars from the rules to keep companies from going out of business.
Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
Resource : http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wsj-editorial-calls-out-fda-cigar-regulations/article/2605632
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