I'm not trying to anger or offend tobacco users, but it's an issue that is close to my heart since one of my children smokes. He doesn't even want to try to quit since he enjoys it so much! I'm worried about him and countless others whose health is being damaged and lives being shortened.

It won't change much, I fear that Gov. control of this evil product will not curtail its destruction.

I would like to add that when nicotine addiction is represented as a "habit" it takes away from the true nature of the substance. We don't refer to heroin "habits" or meth "habits" or cocaine "habits" ad infinitum. These things are recognized as medical and physical addictions. We don't waste millions of scarce health dollars running ads to tell those other drug addicts that they can quit if they just want to enough. We send them to facilities that specialize in treating the addictions and teaching them how to remain clean. We tell nicotine addicts that they are failures for not beating their addiction without help. We sell them replacement drugs to wean them from smoking as though they are not addicted to the nicotine in tobacco products but merely the smoke of cigarettes. Would we tell a coke addict that he'd be okay if he just stopped snorting, shooting, or smoking it? Would we think that this addict was better off since he no longer did these things and merely let it soak into his skin in a patch? Nicotine is a powerfully addictive drug. It has proven to be more addictive than cocaine and heroin and still the categorization of this particular drug addiction is that of habit. Like saying huh or scratching or biting fingernails. One of the first steps that needs to be taken is to stop the minimization of nicotine addictions and recognize it publicly as an addiction to a dangerous drug. Set up treatment centers that will help the addicts get free of the addiction. I'm a smoker and it is literally going to kill me.

hear hear!

Obama is on the waty to heling the Nation loose an increasingly expensive addiction. We export more than is consume here. Will then FDA jurisdiction over the industry have an impact on the exportation of the deadly products? Can the economy take another hit? Has Obama completely kicked his own "addiction"? Good job Patricia..........

Of all the things I've depended on, nicotine was by far the most addictive and the hardest to kick.

Sounds to me like a plan worth trying :)

Great work Patricia!!! The rational behind tobacco stinks !!!
I know I use to stink from the time I had my first smoke of the day until I had my last smoke of the day. I suppose I even stunk throughtout the night. That's a lot of stinken thinken.