By Rich Peck*
Aug. 30, 2007 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)

Two agencies of The United Methodist Church have joined 24 other religious groups in an effort to get Congress to authorize the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products.

The Commission on United Methodist Men and the United Methodist Board of Church and Society are urging a congressional subcommittee to back the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

The pending legislation would give the FDA authority to restrict tobacco advertising, regulate warning labels, remove hazardous ingredients from cigarettes or reduce nicotine levels.

The interfaith effort is supported by religious groups ranging from the Islamic Society of North America to the Southern Baptist Convention. A letter from leaders of 25 faith groups was sent in July to all members of Congress urging them to support FDA regulation of tobacco legislation.

400,000 deaths annually

"Four-hundred-thousand Americans die annually from diseases related to smoking, and 1,000 children become addicted to tobacco products every day," said Richard Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.

"We have a moral imperative to safeguard men, women and children from falling victim to tobacco addiction. Dog food is more regulated than tobacco, and products designed to help people stop smoking are regulated by the FDA, while tobacco is not."

The Rev. David Adams, top staff executive of the Nashville-based Commission on United Methodist Men, recalled how he and a friend snuck Winston cigarettes from his mother in the fourth grade, then ate dill pickles after smoking them to hide the tobacco smell. He said his mother died of cancer at age 46 and that other relatives who smoked also died of cancer at relatively young ages.

Courtney Wilson, a high school student and youth advocate for the Disciples of Christ, said students at her Nashville area high school don’t even wait until they leave school grounds before they light up.

"Tobacco companies spend $406 million just in Tennessee to market products such as candy-flavored cigarettes. If the FDA regulated the product, the agency would outlaw such products," said Wilson, noting that studies show 90 percent of smokers are addicted before age 19.

A preventable disease

"Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S.," said Bishop Marsha Thomas, the episcopal leader of the House of God Church in Tennessee. She expressed particular concern for members of her African-American denomination because members of that ethnic group die at a higher rate than Anglo Americans.

Dr. Chuck Womack, a physician and a member of the American Heart Association, said that if the FDA regulated tobacco, the agency would prohibit cigarette companies from using such terms as "light" or "low tar." The FDA also would require tobacco companies to list their toxic contents and health effects, he said.

Records list 196 members of the U.S. House of Representatives as co-sponsors of HR 1108. The bill is now in the Subcommittee on Health of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. A similar Senate bill (S625) is co-sponsored by 53 senators and passed the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Aug. 1.

In Tennessee––a top state in tobacco consumption––the coalition is targeting U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., who are among the 33 members of the House Subcommittee on Health who will vote on legislation.

*Peck is the communications coordinator for the Commission on United Methodist Men.

News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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Resources

Board of Church and Society

United Methodist Men

Faith United Against Tobacco

Organizations supporting the FDA tobacco legislation

The Book of Discipline on tobacco