Fmr. FDA head fights tobacco

With the U.S. Supreme Court set out to hear arguments about whether the government can regulate tobacco as a drug, former Food and Drug Administration head David Kessler's speech yesterday was especially timely. Kessler, whose tenure at the FDA was marked by repeated battles against with tobacco industry, spoke yesterday during the 1999 installment of the Beth and Richard Sackler Lecture on Social Science and Social Policy. In a talk in front of about 80 people entitled 'The Tobacco Wars: Research and Public Policy," Kessler, who served as commissioner from 1990 until 1997 and is now the dean of the Yale University Medical School, offered insight to the audience on "tobacco's role in social policy and society." He opened the lecture by asking audience members what they thought of the FDA's seeking to regulate tobacco as an addictive drug, rather than a food. Kessler then asked others in attendance to assume the position of heads of tobacco corporations. The hypothetical debate and its indecisive conclusion as to whether tobacco should be classified as a drug led Kessler to present several key facts and figures relevant to the debate. He emphasized the importance of patents as the first clue to an intent to adjust the nicotine levels in cigarettes, citing a 1966 patent of a nicotine-ion exchanger as a means to increase cigarettes' nicotine content. In 1992, another patent protected a potentially more potent nicotine analog. Both were invented by Phillip Morris. In the 1970s, attempts to regulate the industry as is now proposed were dismissed, largely due to the fact that there was a lack of evidence of manipulation by manufacturers. The issue of whether tobacco, and in particular, nicotine, are addictive was also addressed. Kessler presented data on the relation of tar levels to nicotine levels in cigarettes since 1982, as well as the 1988 statement by then-Surgeon General C. Everett Koop that nicotine was an addictive substance. Kessler claimed that as tar levels declined, nicotine levels rose. This was supported by an analysis of a certain brand classified as "lights" that actually had more nicotine. He also discussed the practice by some manufacturers of blending tobacco leaves to release more nicotine. Similar methods are common with smokeless and chewing tobacco. Kessler concluded the lecture by addressing the controversial issue of advertising and tobacco, stating that manufacturers had known about the lucrative effects of attracting young smokers since at least the early 1970s. Returning to the initial question of how to take on such a large and intricate industry, Kessler said, "Remember? you can take on what seems to be impossible."