President Obama’s Tobacco Regulation Bill
On June 22, 2009, President Obama signed the tobacco regulation bill into law which gave unprecedented authority to the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products. Previous administration has not passed this bill as law. The bill aims to limit initiation of smoking especially for below 18 age-groups. It specifically mentions that “companies no longer can sell products with sweet, fruity, spicy characterizing flavors. There can be no products labeled “light” or “low-tar”. Moreover, warning labels must cover half of each cigarette package.”
The law is definitely a positive step towards the long battle to end smoking addiction. Media plays an important role on smoking initiation among youth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Cigarette advertising and promotion, smoking by adults and older siblings, access to cigarettes, price of cigarettes, peer pressure and the degree of exposure to effective counter-advertising and school-based prevention can influence patterns of initiation.” http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00052816.htm
It would take some time before any positive impact is visible. On the other hand, the tobacco industry might not take this law very nicely. In previous instances, the tobacco industry has claimed that advertising only influences brand preference and there is no link between advertising and smoking initiation. Although the growth was lagging in recent times, Cigarette and Tobacco industry is still a massive industry. IBISWorld reported that Cigarette and Tobacco Product Manufacturing Industry’s revenue was a staggering $42.9 billion in 2008. http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/retail.aspx?indid=293&chid=1
This law may affect the major players in the industry such as Altria Group, Inc., Reynolds American, Inc. and Lorillard, Inc.
Record Highest Unemployment Rate Announced for March 2009
The latest release of employment numbers today was not surprising for economists but it only confirmed that there is a long way to go before any improvements in the current economic situation can actually set in. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS), 665,000 jobs were lost in March 2009, shooting unemployment rate up at 8.5 percent. Among those still employed, average work-week fell to 33.2 hours in March 2009- an indication that employers are resorting to both philosophy – job cut and work-week cut.
Few economists believe that the economic situation would improve by May or June as Obama’s stimulus plan starts showing effects. Now, that does not mean that employers will start rehiring. It is just an euphemism to say that the chance that “you”, an average worker, will be laid off will go down a little bit. Some economists believe that it might take till 2013 to return to a normal 5 percent unemployment rate. Even when recent news suggested that home sales are increasing, an article in the Wall Street Journal (April 1, 2009) predicts that home prices will fall further and has a long way to go. Moreover, reports similar to today’s announcement by BLS makes consumer confidence to erode further. The bottomline is that no one knows how long is this tunnel as of now. The current state of suffering for average people reminds us of the 2005 Jim Carey starrer “Fun with Dick and Jane”. Jim Carey looses his job in the movie, where he had worked hard for years, because of greediness of top executives of the company. Subtracting the Jim Carey humor, the movie is so relevant to our lives now. We can only wish that a miracle happens and the economy recovers soon as in the end of the movie.
