<html> <blockquote type=cite cite>It is not a coincidence that cigarettes have so far managed to escape regulation. Soon after taking office, the former United States Surgeon General Everett Koop discovered that tobacco "is considered neither a food nor a drug nor a cosmetic; therefore it is a unique substance, virtually outside regulatory control."4 The reason for the cigarette's unique legal status, at least in the United States, is that Congress made sure to insert a clause that specifically excluded tobacco from virtually every major law passed to protect consumers, including the Controlled Substances Act 1970, the Consumer Product Safety Act 1972, and the Toxic Substances Control Act 1976.5 This lamentable record culminated in the supreme court ruling two years ago that the Food and Drug Administration lacked the authority to regulate tobacco.</blockquote> Harvard professor in British Medical Journal Editorial: Levelling the playing field for regulation of nicotine) <a href="http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/326/7381/115" eudora="autourl">http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/326/7381/115</a> Cigarettes are the deadliest form of nicotine delivery available on the market, yet are the least regulated. An editorial in this week's BMJ argues that the British government should act now to level the regulatory playing field for tobacco and nicotine. It is no coincidence that cigarettes have so far managed to escape regulation, writes Professor Ichiro Kawachi of Harvard School of Public Health. The reason for the cigarette's unique legal status, at least in the United States, is that Congress made sure to insert a clause that specifically excluded tobacco from virtually every major law passed to protect consumers. As a result, the Food and Drug Administration lacks the authority to regulate tobacco. By contrast, a new report from the Royal College of Physicians of London has identified several existing pieces of legislation in the United Kingdom that do not seem to exclude tobacco. These laws offer a promising framework for the regulation of nicotine, including tobacco products. The urgent need for levelling the playing field in nicotine regulation is underscored by the proliferation of new tobacco products, often marketed to smokers as "safer" alternatives to conventional cigarettes. An independent nicotine regulatory authority with jurisdiction over both new tobacco products and other nicotine delivery products would serve the interests of both fair competition and the protection of public health, he concludes. Contact: Ichiro Kawachi, Professor of Health and Social Behaviour, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA Email: Ichiro.Kawachi@channing.harvard.edu </html>