SBC Supports FDA Oversight of Cigarettes

The Southern Baptist Convention is among 20 major religious organizations who say the Food and Drug Administration should regulate cigarettes.

An earlier Supreme Court decision sided with tobacco companies, saying the FDA’s authority didn’t extend to tobacco products, but a new bill could change that.

In the Senate, the measure has passed a key committee, but it hasn’t yet had a hearing in the house. The bill gives the FDA authority to control a tobacco company’s ingredients, marketing efforts, and issue recalls.

Dr. Richard Land is president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and is often cited as one of the most influential evangelical leaders in the country. He said he feels he has a moral obligation to call on other leaders, like Congress, to change the way tobacco companies operate.

“It’s a disgrace that all the products that help you quit smoking are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, but the drug you’re trying to weaned from is not regulated.”

Land is part of the group, Faith United Against Tobacco, a group of 20-plus clergy and lay members calling on Congress support the bill. In Tennessee, the group specifically asks for help from Republican Marsha Blackburn and Democrat Bart Gordon since they are on the committee that will hold the bill’s first hearing.