The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it will limit nicotine levels in cigarettes to stem addiction and consequent health problems. The formal FDA rule has not been released, yet the implications of this regulatory shift are dizzyingly myriad. Individual liberties, black market diversion, and the odd contrast between food and cigarette labeling and regulation add to the theater-of-the-absurd sideshow this agency has become.
Tackling Cigarettes-Come-Lately
Reducing cigarette addiction is a worthy regulatory goal. Eyebrows are being raised across the nation, however, at this ambitious gambit for its dubious means, not its laudable ends. The FDA has come under fire for Kafka-esque regulatory antics in numerous fields, including its less-than-stellar success in protecting Americans from food toxins. The nicotine regulations smack of a…
