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Menthol ban will make a bad situation worse
The FDA's naive plan will lead to countless unintended consequences: Opposing view

November 15, 2018  •  USA Today

The Food and Drug Administration's naive plan to ban menthol cigarettes will lead to countless unintended consequences, including increased youth smoking, especially in minority communities, where a ban would spark illegal markets reminiscent of the days of alcohol prohibition.

Kids could easily buy loose cigarettes stored in sealed baggies with unwrapped menthol cough drops. The FDA has failed to enforce its own rules. Consider the agency's inability to prevent youth use of e-cigarettes, despite an outright federal ban.

One unintended consequence is telling: The ban unites some African-American civil rights leaders and top law enforcement officer groups.

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The Science-Based Community and E-Cigarettes

November 14, 2018  •  American Greatness

Government agencies populated with scientists people are pleased to call "experts" are often thought to be above the ordinary give-and-take of politics and, especially, immune to the clarion calls of activists and pressure of public opinion. Scientific experts, or "the science-based community," is supposed to be driven by data and evidence, not the naked pressure of agenda driven interests. As we will see in the case of the Food and Drug Administration's relationship to e-cigarette regulation, these assumptions about the impartiality of scientists don't always hold water.

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American Energy Fueled by Freedom, not Bailouts
Stier Asks: "What if President Chester A. Arthur suppressed coal production and put his thumb on the scale of Big Lumber?

August 30, 2018  •  The Detroit News

A leaked memo circulating in the White House calls for electricity consumers to bail out struggling coal and nuclear plants by mandating that a portion of energy to be purchased from certain failing suppliers.

This proposal doesn't make sense. Following through on it would undermine the market-driven forces that have boosted U.S. energy production, saved money for consumers, and helped the environment.

Since President Trump took office, the U.S. Department of Energy has supported an '"all-of-the-above" approach to domestic energy production.

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The President's Promise to Cut FDA Red Tape
A Moment of Truth

August 18, 2018  •  Daily Caller

Technological advances touch every aspect of our lives, often in ways we rarely think about. Today, we live longer, healthier, and better lives because of our access to innovative products that were unimaginable in the recent past.

That's why it's critical for regulators to make timely and common-sense decisions. Yet excessive risk-aversion is endemic at federal agencies.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is one of the worst offenders. The agency regulates products that account for more than a trillion dollars annually. The FDA's obsessive dislike for taking on reasonable risk often comes at the cost of creating unreasonable harm. But the agency is rarely held to account for its inaction.

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FDA's Anti-Smoking Strategy Puts Lives At Risk
FDA Tobacco Plan: Year One Status Report

July 26, 2018  •  Real Clear Health

By Jeff Stier
July 26, 2018

July 28th marks the one year anniversary of the FDA's landmark announcement to embark on what it called a "new comprehensive plan for tobacco and nicotine regulation" that "places nicotine, and the issue of addiction, at the center of the agency's tobacco regulation efforts."

When rolling out the multi-year plan, Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said that "the overwhelming amount of death and disease attributable to tobacco is caused by addiction to cigarettes." Never was a more obvious statement more necessary, given the recent media hysteria over e-cigarettes.

The agency unveiled a two-pronged approach to reduce smoking.

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