Anyone who smokes could probably recite the three to four warnings that usually come on the side of their cigarette packs. My favorites include: “Smoking by Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury, Premature Birth, and Low Birth Weight.” & “Cigarette Smoke Contains Carbon Monoxide.” The reason for their favorite status is the peace of mind stemming from my: a) not being a woman or a fetus (not giving a shit), and b) not understanding the chemical reactions between CO and my cells (ignorance is bliss).
Not only are cigarette warnings limited to a total of four easy to read and quite benign messages, they are preceded by an “According to the Surgeon General” disclaimer; making it seem that this opinion of cigarettes being harmful is limited to the understanding of one man. The prefix usually makes smokers simply disregard the warnings, as we all think to ourselves “who is this douche bag,” or “what the hell does he know,” or “the Surgeon General can go jump in a lake,” etc.
The warnings are a result of federal regulations promulgated after the passage of 15 U.S.C. §§ 1333-34. These regulations require that the Surgeon General be the sole decider on how the warnings should look, read, etc. The act also preempts the states from requiring different (read more extensive) language to be placed on cigarette packages through private tort suits over the harmful effects of smoking.
Usually, states allow private citizens to sue manufacturers of harmful products who do not extensively warn the public about the dangers of use. This is why, for example, you cannot buy a set of window blinds without having a tag on the strings warning you to keep them unattached so that your suicidal toddler might avoid hanging himself. This, no doubt, was a result of someone suing a manufacturer of blinds over a dead baby.
Interestingly, this type of private regulation - usually the most vigilant type due to the massive damages coming to the lone regulators (read plaintiffs bar) – is disallowed in the arena of cigarettes due to the perpetual thorn in federalism’s side - preemption. The federal regulators don’t want the states muddling up their simple system of warnings by forcing the cigarette companies – through massive law suits – to smear red inked, exclamation point ridden, in your face WARNING!!! labels all over Joe Camel’s face. So they conveniently told the States to stay the hell out of it.
Who does this help besides the tobacco companies? If the companies were kept honest by lawsuits about the numerous and extended possible damaging effects of their product, maybe smokers would be more informed about the problems satisfying that nit fit brings them. Cancer, emphysema, and fetus shrinkage are not the extended version of possible harms here; these are the trailer. The feds should have left this regulation up to the citizens. We would have done a better job of keeping the tobacco companies honest.
I think that writing this justifies a cigarette. Time for a smoke break.
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2 comments:
During my trip to the U.K. I tried to collect every cigarette pack with a different warning label. There were way more than four different warnings and they were much larger than the Surgeon General's warning here in America. Here is my collection displayed on the hotel room floor. My favorites were "Smoking can cause a slow and painful death" and "Smoking may reduce the blood flow and causes impotence". Our approach is not quite as aggressive but we've still come a long way from this.
I've always linked Winston's to redneck NASCAR enthusiasts ... not children.
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