The Plan is to Ban Nicotine
From the 'debate' on FDA regulation in the House of Representatives, and considering the orchestra of recent tobacco related legislation,
nicotine, not tobacco per se, is to be prohibited. This is to be the model for interceding into sugar and caffeine food content. The mantra is that children should not be at risk of getting addicted. The plan is to remove the addicting ingredient (nicotine, sugar, or caffeine) and you can 'taste' all the small beer nicotine-free 'herbal smoking mixtures' you want. Aromatherapy.
American Justice for Sale, Big Tobacco Can Pay
As is well known in our system of justice, we are all equal, some (Phillip Morris) more than others (i.e. Peretti's). Big tobacco has the money to create fiduciary 'personal working relationships' with the FDA inspectors and regulators. FDA oversight of perishable food inspection is Escherichia coli and Salmonella ludicrous, drug approval processes and accessibility, all greased by, not bribery of course, but something..., let's call it 'good will.' With enough Durst money, murder in Texas gets a 'tsk' and probation for mutilation of a corpse.
Philip Morris Will Make Big Money
This is favorable to Philip Morris because they have the laboratories and money to make the 'food label' spectrographic nicotine content packaging disclosures. From their website, "PM USA has worked with the FTC on this topic for many years and remains committed to working with the FTC and other federal authorities to identify and adopt a standardized testing methodology that improves on the Cambridge Filter Method." In addition 'a low-nicotine cigarette test-marketed by Philip Morris in the early 1990s' as a vehicle for smoking cessation would be a ready profit opportunity under the imposition of lower and lower nicotine levels. Big brother is going to force America to quit smoking.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/02/020214075903.htm It's even better that the federal government will take care of their marketing. The issue that FDA approval may be interpreted as conferring credibility to some (Philip Morris) tobacco products has been raised. True, but the trade off for the feds is their empowerment to first direct disclosure, then control and progressively reduce how much nicotine you can have. The operative word is power. Public perception isn't as important as some Fed sitting in a tobacco related business's office drooling to bring the full force of the federal government down if you insist on delivering nicotine, endangering poorly parented, helpless children. O, the children.
Reynold's Smokeless, Nicotine Bad
Reynold's smokeless candied nicotine delivery won't be FDA approved because some pierced and tatted child wanting nicotine with their Red Bull may become a smoker. It doesn't matter that you're not going to get lung or mouth or throat cancer from a candied lozenge, or 'energy' drink, low calorie available, the proximate enemy is not cancer, or emphysema, but addiction to nicotine. The political right having promoted marijuana as a gateway drug to 'harder stuff' for as long as we can remember cannot find an argument against the political left juggernaut now. Who wants to deny that the gateway drug to smoking is nicotine? The same rationale that everyone who smokes a joint will end up shooting heroin; initially seduced by smokeless nicotine candy today, little Suzy will be hot-boxing a terrorist Cuban Pyramid every hour tomorrow, and Afghani hookah opium the day after. The left would just as righteously slap that disgusting cigarette, pipe or cigar out of your mouth as protect a woman's right to choose abortion while you are not to have the right to smoke as both the political right and left are determined that you cannot smoke a joint with your highball. As if. People are funny. In politics, nothing has to make sense but the vote count. O, the children.
Additives Perceptions and Disclosure
The volume and ingenuity of cigarette additives is nothing short of amazing. Manufacturers will have to disclose what's in it, similar to the Danish practice. Esoterica cannot sell Penzance in Denmark because they can't disclose. They would pass the low nicotine level with flying colors, but it will take too much money to answer the question of the health effects of smoking that secret oil, whatever it is. Moreover, it wouldn't be a secret anymore. In favor of propylene glycol-based aromatics is the understanding that there are no known adverse health effects, beyond that expected of tobacco. Traditional English and the Perique processes for example have the defense that they are not intended to manipulate composition 'unnaturally.'
Loose bulk pipe tobacco, as 'unpackaged,' is either going to have a transition period to create adequate 'disclosure packaging,' stopped by Customs, or channeled through 'licensed' tobacconists who themselves will be responsible for nicotine content disclosure and client age requirements. I hope this will be low priority.
If they will bring out the Army over smokeless tobacco, consider being careful pushing the cache of the piper or premium cigar smoker as more attractive or sophisticated than the cigarette smoker or spitters. This will only bring in the image police charged to discredit all nicotine use in the totality. Never forget that from their point of view, all nicotine use is reprehensible, it isn't even an issue of smoking or chewing per se. What promise can be made that smoking low-nicotine herbal smoking mixture won't lead to smoking 'the stronger stuff?'
Unsolicited GL Pease and C&D Advice: Tobacco Easier to Export than Import
The smart domestic producer and blender move is to go international, the sooner the better. As America's standard of living is progressively equalized to the developing world, the developing and third world already spending 10% of their per capita income on tobacco products, it just makes good business sense to establish a market for 'quality' in China and India for example, offices in Mumbai and Hong Kong. The emerging middle and upper classes of those behemoth countries are the market of their future profitability, without all this politically correct Victorian hand wringing in America. They have that desire for the 'finer things in life' and the money to pay. With mandatory disclosure, the domestic effort should be to have natural 'additive free' tobacco processes accepted, and not in the same class as cigarette rapid nicotine delivery. Hopefully, by the time the feds get around to full-fledged harassment of pipe tobacco, Chinese penchant for intellectual property infringement and product adulteration a given risk, they will have established their overseas business. The big tobacco profit model is already out of the United States.
eCigarettes: Brave New World
It's hip to be square. I hadn't heard of smokeless nicotine delivery devices from China until I started reading about tobacco legislation. As HistoryMajor joked, all too close to the truth, a laugh to keep from crying, meeting someone in a parking lot to buy nicotine may be inevitable for some. Nicotine is known as one of the most addictive drugs in existence. They're right about one thing, for most of us, including me; it won't be worth the hassle. You get to enjoy the stress of being criminals in pursuit of your stress reliever. Then you get to stress about passing your nicotine drug test to keep your job. Planning far different from taxing, they intend to force nicotine sugar and caffeine content down. There is a prohibition coming, the black market already gearing up, already here. Maybe you'll even get to sign a disclosure form that releases your health insurance carrier while you're taking delivery of that box of Maple bars. I hope you like NutraSweet, Virginia Slims, and decaf.
The quasi criminalization of nicotine may serve as a model for a form of twilight-zone legalization of other illicit drugs. Everybody knows the prohibition didn't work. Politically however, that doesn't matter. The hypocrisy of legal alcohol compared to illegal marijuana is staggering.
Good News and Kudos
The good news, our TAD has been officially cured. It isn't a disorder anymore, it's prudently storing nuts for the winter. Kudos to those who have established storage that will last. For the rest of us, qui vivra verra.
