Rest of the Story Proposes Corrective Statements for Federal Government

In the wake of the release of the Department of Justice's proposed corrective statements for the tobacco companies, The Rest of the Story is today proposing its own corrective statements for the federal government. Like the tobacco industry corrective statements, these statements are intended to correct the damage to the public's appreciation of critical factual issues in the area of tobacco science that have resulted from lies and deception propagated by the federal government. (Disclaimer: This idea is not my own. Jacob Sullum has opined about the need for federal government corrective statements here).

The DOJ's proposed corrective statements do not merely present factual information to the public. Each of the statements has a long "preamble" in which the tobacco companies are forced to admit their past wrongdoing, including having lied to the public. In fact, the tobacco companies have submitted a challenge to these proposed statements, arguing that they violate the D.C. appellate court's requirement that the corrective statements be restricted to factual and uncontroversial information, that they violate the First Amendment by requiring the tobacco companies to declare wrongdoing that they do not admit they conducted, and that they violate due process by compelling the companies, under threat of contempt, to admit wrongdoing in statements that could then be used by plaintiffs in other courts as evidence of alleged wrongdoing. In adherence to the DOJ's style of including such prefatory statements in their proposed corrective statements, I include such prefatory clauses here.

The evidence regarding the lies and deception of the federal government with regard to each of the issues below (each is addressed in a corrective statement) is presented in the following links:

1. FDA's Deception Regarding the Presence of Carcinogens in Electronic Cigarettes: The FDA scared the public and implied that electronic cigarettes present a substantial risk of cancer to users by reporting its laboratory finding that electronic cigarettes are dangerous because they contain carcinogens. The FDA failed to inform the public about the level of carcinogens they detected and how it compares to the level of tobacco-specific nitrosamines in regular cigarettes and in nicotine replacement products. The truth is that the FDA found only trace levels of carcinogens, comparable to those found in nicotine patches and nicotine gum, and orders of magnitude below the levels of these same carcinogens in regular cigarettes.

2. Surgeon General's Lies Regarding the Cardiovascular Effects of Brief Tobacco Smoke Exposure: The U.S. Surgeon General's office lied by stating that: "Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke can cause cardiovascular disease... ." This is not true. It takes many years of tobacco smoke exposure to cause atherosclerosis, even among active smokers.

3. Surgeon General's Deception Regarding the Carcinogenic Risk Presented by a Brief Tobacco Smoke Exposure: The U.S. Surgeon General's office deceived the public by stating that: "Inhaling even the smallest amount of tobacco smoke can ... lead to cancer." There is no scientific evidence to support this claim. Although the Surgeon General scared the public into thinking that a single puff on a cigarette could cause cancer, the office provided no evidence that this have ever actually occurred.

4. Federal Trade Commission's Deception Regarding the Health Benefits of Lower Nicotine and Tar Yields: The federal government bears some responsibility in the deception of smokers about the safety of using low-tar and light cigarettes. The Federal Trade Commission, which has assumed jurisdiction over the tar and nicotine content of cigarettes and the advertising of cigarettes with regard to this content, has failed in its regulatory efforts. The deception of smokers is not just in the hands of the cigarette companies. It is also in the hands of the federal government, for assuming jurisdiction over, but failing miserably to address the advertising of tar and nicotine levels to smokers. In fact, the federal government has knowingly misled smokers for years by requiring labeling that is inherently deceptive. The cigarette companies have been required by law to provide these deceptive figures.

5. FDA's Deception Regarding Flavored Cigarettes Being a Gateway to Addiction for Youth: The FDA deceived the American public by stating that "flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers." The truth is that almost no children or young adults progress to regular smoking by virtue of starting with flavored cigarettes. Such cigarettes were almost entirely taken off the market years ago and at the time the statement was made, the consumption of flavored cigarettes by youth was below 0.1% of the market.

6. DHHS's Deception Regarding Flavored Cigarettes Being a Gateway to Addiction for Youth: The Department of Health and Human Services deceived the American public by stating that "Flavored cigarettes attract and allure kids into lifetime addiction. FDA's ban on these cigarettes will break that cycle for the more than 3,600 young people who start smoking daily." The truth is that almost no children or young adults progress to regular smoking by virtue of starting with flavored cigarettes. Such cigarettes were almost entirely taken off the market years ago and at the time the statement was made, the consumption of flavored cigarettes by youth was below 0.1% of the market. The FDA's ban on flavored cigarettes will have no appreciable impact on youth smoking initiation. Thus, it will not break the cycle of addiction for more than 3,600 young people who start smoking daily.

The Rest of the Story

Proposed Corrective Statement #1: (for the FDA)
Corrective Statement for FDA's Deception Regarding the Presence of Carcinogens in Electronic Cigarettes

We are being required to tell the truth about our laboratory findings regarding the detection of carcinogens in electronic cigarettes. We told you that electronic cigarettes contain carcinogens but we deceived you by not revealing the level and by not comparing it to that of regular cigarettes or nicotine replacement products. Here's the truth:

• We found only trace levels of tobacco-specific nitrosamines in electronic cigarettes, comparable to those found in FDA-approved nicotine replacement products like nicotine patches and nicotine gum.
• The levels of carcinogens we detected in electronic cigarettes are orders of magnitude lower than in regular cigarettes, indicating that electronic cigarettes are likely much safer than regular cigarettes in terms of cancer risk.
• The minute levels of tobacco-specific nitrosamines in electronic cigarettes are a necessary result of the extraction of nicotine from tobacco. Overall, these devices deliver nicotine with only a few other chemicals, compared to the delivery of nicotine plus tens of thousands of chemicals and more than 60 proven carcinogens in regular cigarettes.
  

Paid for by the Food and Drug Administration by order of The Rest of the Story.


Proposed Corrective Statement #2: (for the Surgeon General's Office)
Corrective Statement for Surgeon General's Lies About the Cardiovascular Effects of Brief Secondhand Smoke Exposure

We told the American people that even a single, brief exposure to secondhand smoke is enough to cause atherosclerosis and heart disease. Here's the truth:

• It takes many years of tobacco smoke exposure to develop atherosclerosis and heart disease, even among active smokers.
• You cannot develop heart disease from just a single, brief exposure to secondhand smoke.

Paid for by the Office of the United States Surgeon General by order of The Rest of the Story.


Proposed Corrective Statement #3: (for the Surgeon General's Office)
Corrective Statement for Surgeon General's Deception About the Carcinogenic Risk Presented by a Brief Secondhand Smoke Exposure

We told the American people that even a single, brief exposure to secondhand smoke is enough to cause cancer. Here's the truth:

• It takes a substantial amount of tobacco smoke exposure to develop cancer. There is no evidence that a single puff on a cigarette is sufficient to cause cancer, and we are not aware of any specific cases in which this has occurred.
  
• Cancer risk among those exposed to secondhand smoke is linearly related to the overall amount of lifetime exposure. It is extremely unlikely that a single, brief exposure to secondhand smoke would cause cancer.
  

Paid for by the Office of the United States Surgeon General by order of The Rest of the Story.


Proposed Corrective Statement #4: (for FTC)
Corrective Statement for Lack of Health Benefit from Low Yield Cigarettes

By requiring the meaningless disclosure of nicotine and tar yields on cigarette packs, we falsely suggested to the public that low tar and light cigarettes are less harmful than regular cigarettes. This kept people smoking and helped sustain the profits of the tobacco companies.

We knew that many smokers switch to low tar and light cigarettes rather than quitting because they believe low tar and lights are less harmful. They are NOT.

We also knew that the tar and nicotine ratings we required of cigarette companies were meaningless and that the machines used to derive these ratings do not simulate actual human smoking behavior. Yet for decades, we required the tobacco companies to furnish this misleading and meaningless information.

Here’s the truth:

• Just because lights and low tar cigarettes have lower FTC-required ratings, that doesn’t mean they are any better for you. Light cigarettes can deliver the same amounts of tar and nicotine as regular cigarettes.
• ALL cigarettes cause cancer, lung disease, heart attacks and premature death—lights, low tar, ultra lights, and naturals. Lower FTC-required tar and nicotine ratings do not mean any lower risk of disease.

Paid for by the Federal Trade Commission under order of The Rest of the Story.


Proposed Corrective Statement #5: (for FDA)
Corrective Statement for Deception Regarding Flavored Cigarettes Being a Gateway to Addiction Among Youth

We told you that flavored cigarettes are a gateway to life-long addiction among youth. We implied that if flavored cigarettes were taken off the market, the problem of cigarette smoking among youth would be greatly reduced. Here's the truth:

• At the time we made the statement, flavored cigarettes made up less than 0.1% of the youth market.
• Taking the few remaining flavored cigarette brands off the market will have no appreciable effect on youth smoking.
• It is the non-flavored brands - the Marlboros, Camels, and Newports - which are responsible for almost all youth addiction to cigarettes.
• The only flavoring that is significantly contributing to youth addiction - menthol - is the one flavoring which has been exempted from the FDA's ban on flavored cigarettes.

Paid for by the Food and Drug Administration under order of The Rest of the Story.


Proposed Corrective Statement #6: (for DHHS)
Corrective Statement for Deception Regarding Flavored Cigarettes Being a Gateway to Addiction Among Youth

We told you that flavored cigarettes are a gateway to life-long addiction among youth. We said that if flavored cigarettes were taken off the market, the problem of cigarette smoking among youth would be greatly reduced. Here's the truth:

• At the time we made the statement, flavored cigarettes made up less than 0.1% of the youth market.
• Taking the few remaining flavored cigarette brands off the market will have no appreciable effect on youth smoking.
• It is the non-flavored brands - the Marlboros, Camels, and Newports - which are responsible for almost all youth addiction to cigarettes.
• The only flavoring that is significantly contributing to youth addiction - menthol - is the one flavoring which has been exempted from the FDA's ban on flavored cigarettes.

Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under order of The Rest of the Story.