A report by the IOM "Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation" was released Thursday. It said, "Cigarettes are a unique consumer product in that they contain carcinogens and other dangerous toxins and would be banned under federal public health statutes if these statutes did not expressly exempt tobacco."
"Congress should confer broad authority on FDA to regulate the manufacture, distribution, marketing and use of tobacco products," the report said.
The United States has 45 million cigarette smokers. Smoking is prevalent among 21 percent of the adult population. About 440,000 deaths occur due to tobacco-related diseases and a whopping $89 billion is spent annually on treatment, the report said.
Richard J. Bonnie, who heads the research committee said, "This is the only lawful consumer product where the declared objective of the nation is to suppress its use altogether," Bonnie said. "Smoking is a habit with potentially deadly consequences that is often taken up by adolescents before they can truly appreciate the risks of addiction,"
The report recommended smoking ban in restaurants, bars and prisons along with other regulatory measures by Food and Drug Administration.
