Altria: Why The FDA Can't Kill This Company

Source from:  Citybizlist Washington DC 04/13/2012

Earlier this month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) delivered another blow to investors' favorite sin stocks: tobacco companies. As part of its anti-smoking campaign, the US FDA is going to start requiring tobacco companies to list the harmful ingredients in their products. "The FDA wants the tobacco makers to report the quantity of 93 chemicals in their products. These include formaldehyde, nicotine, arsenic, cadmium, ammonia and carbon monoxide. Tobacco companies will also have to enlist quantities of 20 different ingredients that can cause cancer, lung disease and other health," reports Zacks. "The list of harmful products won't be available on the packages of the tobacco products. The FDA has decided that it will compile information for each product and make them available to the public by April 2013." And, that is only the latest FDA requirement. In June 2011, the FDA ruled that tobacco companies in the US had to include that all cigarette labels include a warning that covers the top 50% of a cigarette pack's front and back panels. The warning is to be a full-color "graphic design of a dead body, cancerous lungs and rotten teeth." The requirement was to start last October. While many in the States balked at the idea of the graphic warnings, Canada instituted a similar law in 2000. The country's smoking rate fell from 26% to 20%. Enditem