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Tobacco Companies Urge Congress to Reject Buyout
7/26/2004 Major tobacco companies, including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Brown & Williamson, and Lorillard, urged Congress to reject the tobacco-quota buyout bill recently passed by the Senate, the Winston-Salem Journal reported July 22. The Senate bill includes a provision that would allow the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the tobacco industry. The cigarette makers claim that the bill is unfair because it would give Philip Morris USA, the leading tobacco manufacturer, a monopoly on the market. Philip Morris supports the Senate bill and FDA regulation. "The Senate amendment imposes $15 billion in new taxes to middle- and lower-income taxpayers. It exclusively benefits one company, which already controls about 50 percent of the U.S. cigarette market to the detriment of hundreds of domestic manufacturers," states an ad from the tobacco companies. The other tobacco companies support the U.S. House of Representatives' version of the buyout, which does not include FDA regulation. "The quota buyout passed by the House of Representatives provides the financial relief tobacco growers need, without trampling on the free-enterprise system or taxing the middle class," the ad said. A House and Senate conference committee is expected to meet later this summer to work out the differences between the two bills. - Vitamin C Needs For Smokers |
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