Two United Methodist agencies seek help from Tennesseans in effort to get tobacco controlled by FDA

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)––Two general agencies of the United Methodist Church have joined 24 other religious groups in an effort to get the U.S. Congress to authorize the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tobacco products.

The General Board of Church and Society and the General Commission on United Methodist Men sponsored a press conference in Nashville to urge two Tennessee congressional members of the 33-member Subcommittee on Health of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, to back HR 1108, “The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.”

United Methodists living in the congressional districts of Rep. Bart Gordon (D) and Marsha Blackburn (R) are urged to seek their support of HR 1108.

“This is the fifth regional meeting designed to bring grass-roots support for the legislation,” said Vinny DeMarco, national coordinator of Faith United against Tobacco. He told United Methodist News Service that similar gatherings were held in Bloomington, Ind., Columbus, Ohio, and two in Houston, Texas. The interfaith effort is supported by religious groups ranging from the Islamic Society of North America to the Southern Baptists. A letter from leaders of 25 faith groups was sent to all members of Congress urging them to support the FDA regulation of tobacco legislation.

Unregulated product causes 400,000 deaths every year

“Four hundred thousand Americans die annually from diseases related to smoking and 1,000 children become addicted to tobacco products every day,” said Dr. 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, said he and a friend sneaked Winston cigarettes from his mother in the fourth grade; the boys ate dill pickles after smoking to disguise the tobacco smell from his parents. Adams underscored the importance of FDA regulation of tobacco by noting that his mother died of cancer at age 46 and other relatives that smoked also died of cancer at relatively young ages.

Ninety percent of smokers addicted before age 19

Courtney Wilson, a high school youth and a youth advocate for the Disciples of Christ denomination, said students at her high school in a Nashville suburb 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.” Wilson noted that 90 percent of smokers were addicted before they reached age 19.

“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. She said, “Forty-two percent of African American adults prefer Newport cigarettes and 80 percent of African American youth prefer that brand.”

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 would also require tobacco companies to list their toxic contents and health effects.

One hundred and ninety six U.S. Representatives have cosponsored HR 1108. The bill is now in the Health Subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. A similar Senate bill (S625) is cosponsored by 53 senators. That bill passed the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on August 1.