Last week Congress passed legislation that would allow the FDA to regulate tobacco including the amount of nicotine as well as the packaging and advertising of this addictive product. The bill was passed in the House (307 to 97 – all Republicans voted against it, surprise) and the Senate (79-17) and President Obama promises to sign the legislation. Should be good news right?

Well, the American Civil Liberties Union has hooked up with the Association of National Advertisers and  is planning on challenging the legislation on the grounds that it inhibits the tobacco industry from marketing directly to adults. What is this about?

Well, the new law would forbid the advertising of tobacco products within 1000 feet of a school and would also outlaw the use of cartoon characters to sell products (Joe Camel) in order to thwart the tobacco industry from marketing to children now that more adults are quitting. After all, the industry needs a new supply of young people to get addicted to replace those who have quit or are dying (remember the old candy cigarettes and the more recent flavored cigarettes).

Mind you, advertisers would still be allowed to advertise – only they’d have to do it in print and as we know, black and white copy doesn’t sell the way pictures of cool people or cartoon characters do.

But in fairness to the industry, the Supreme Court struck down a similar law passed in Massachusetts in 2001 citing that the law was too broad. Kathleen Dachille, a University of Maryland law professor and director of the Legal Resource Center for Tobacco Regulation, Litigation and Advocacy said unless there is strong evidence that advertising aimed at adults influences teens, then there is a good chance that the new law will be struck down.

Isn’t it ridiculous that while we ALL know that tobacco smoking (or chewing) is addicting, causes lung cancer and negatively impacts every major organ system in the body, we can’t restrict or outright ban the sale of these products because it might interfere with an industry’s desire to continue to hook people on this addictive substance?