Source:Orange County RegisterNews,page 11
Contact:(letters@link.freedom.com)

Headline:Tobacco industry tells court it fears FDA ban

The Food and Drug Administration would be forced to ban cigarettes if given
the power to regulate tobacco,industry lawyers told a federal court Monday
in Warm Springs,Va.

"Once a drug has been found to be unsafe,there is no freedom of choice to
use it,"Richard Cooper,an attorney for cigarette makers told a three judge
panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

But acting U.S. Solicitor General Walter Dellinger said the FDA has no
intention of banning tobacco and said such a decision would be up to
Congress.Cigarette makers were in court to appeal an April 25 ruling from a
North Carolina judge that said the FDA can regulate tobacco as a drug.