For what are often very different reasons, Republicans and Democrats are prone to anger when government doesn’t work. Conservatives are, by nature, skeptical of regulation. Progressives, by contrast, are frustrated when bureaucratic bungling gives the government a bad name. So it’s no surprise that there is growing bipartisan outrage over the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) failure to efficiently review novel reduced-risk products and allow them to enter the marketplace. Expediting consumer access to these products is both an obvious and commonsense approach to reducing the harm of smoking. The bottom line is clear: With the invention of new, safer nicotine delivery products, we have at our disposal a technology that is poised to dramatically reduce the nearly 500,000 smoking-related deaths that occur each year in America. But despite these innovations, the FDA is dragging its feet in making these devices available. At a moment when faith in public institutions is, in fact, flailing, the current predicament is utterly outrageous.
If we had the power to end the scourge of unhealthy choices in America, it would surely be for the greater good. But until someone invents that magic wand, smart public health policy demands that we steer people away from the most dangerous behaviors. As many know, among the most harmful ways to consume tobacco is through smoking it. Cigarette smoke fills the lungs, and that smoke and tar put smokers at great risk of a whole range of illnesses and conditions, with cancer and emphysema among them. That’s where smokeless tobacco and nicotine products come in. These new products are an incredibly effective strategy for reducing harm. Why, then, are federal regulators preventing so many of them from hitting the market?