In the news this week: A new federal law tightens regulation of tobacco companies in the U.S., an Islamic high council in the Philippines declares a fatwa against the production and use of tobacco, and a forthcoming tax threatens $11 cigarettes in New York City.

New U.S. law tightens regulation of tobacco companies

A new federal law that went into effect in the United States this week contains several important provisions with regard to tobacco smoking. In general, the legislation further constrains the marketing of tobacco, and provides for enhanced disclosure and regulation of smoking formulations. However, there are also some significant concessions to the tobacco companies. Some highlights:

  • It is now illegal to sell cigarettes with added flavorings — except menthol, which has been deferred for “additional study”.
  • Labeling restrictions on tobacco products have been tightened another notch, with new requirements including larger minimum sizes for warnings.
  • Words like “mild” and “light” are now prohibited from cigarette advertising on the grounds that consumers might receive a misleading impression of product safety.
  • Tobacco companies are now required to disclose the substances added to tobacco in manufacturing, subject to control by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
  • However, the FDA is specifically not allowed to force tobacco companies to eliminate nicotine from their products, nor to ban existing products.

[Summary of legislation]

Tobacco smoking illegal under Islam, says Supreme Council

In the Philippines, a council of Islamic leaders has issued a fatwa, or religious ruling, declaring it a sin for Muslims to smoke tobacco or participate in its trade. The Supreme Council of Darul Ifta of the Philippines, under Grand Mufti Sheikh Omar Pasigan, based the judgement on teachings that prohibit activities harmful to the body. As in the West, smoking has been subject to mounting pressure in Muslim countries for some time: a smoking ban has been in effect in Mecca and Medina, cities regarded as holy in Islam, since 2002.

[Official statement by Philippines Department of Health]

Cigarettes head towards $11 a pack in NYC

When a new state tax comes into effect in New York on July 1, the tax total on a pack of cigarettes in New York City — where there is also a municipal tax — will rise to $5.85, the highest in the country. This could push the retail price of a pack of smokes in the Big Apple to nearly $11, bringing the yearly cost of a pack-a-day habit to about $4000, more than $2100 of it in taxes.

Although middle-class smokers may grumble at the new tax, such measures are toughest for the burgeoning ranks of out-of-work smokers, and those on low or fixed incomes, especially long-time users caught between their addiction and their encroaching poverty. Government loves the cash, and anti-smoking activists will look on with satisfaction as smoking rates ratchet downward one more notch under the increased financial pressure. As for the multitude of low-income smokers who can’t face quitting, they’re the bottom of the iceberg in this story, and  we may not hear too much about the impact of the tax on their lives. But at 11 bucks a pack, there will be, along with some small number of success stories, a lot of addicts in pain.

[TIME blog item about the forthcoming tax hike]

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