FOR YEARS, the federal government has tried, ineffectively, to litigate away the effects of smoking on people and the public purse, pursuing expensive lawsuits against an industry that nevertheless continues to produce a needlessly dangerous product. Then, in 2004, it seemed that Congress might opt for a better strategy by giving the Food and Drug Administration -- which already scrutinized everything from aspirin to Alpo -- the authority to regulate tobacco products. To make the measure palatable, its sponsors attached it to a proposal that handed tobacco farmers a $10 billion buyout package. Even so, the proposal died in conference at the hands of a hostile Republican House leadership and an indifferent White House....
Regulate Tobacco, Finally
FOR YEARS, the federal government has tried, ineffectively, to litigate away the effects of smoking on people and the public purse, pursuing expensive lawsuits against an industry that nevertheless continues to produce a needlessly dangerous product. Then, in 2004, it seemed that Congress might opt for a better strategy by giving the Food and Drug Administration -- which already scrutinized everything from aspirin to Alpo -- the authority to regulate tobacco products. To make the measure palatable, its sponsors attached it to a proposal that handed tobacco farmers a $10 billion buyout package. Even so, the proposal died in conference at the hands of a hostile Republican House leadership and an indifferent White House....