WARNING: Reading Slaphand Could Kill You.

The FDA recently released 36 images they are proposing to put on new, larger cigarette warning labels that were approved in June 2009 by the FDA. The labels would appear on the front and back of all cigarette packages and all advertisements. Cigarette companies will have 15 months after June 2009 to comply with the utilization of the new labels.

Now, this little rant is going to come across as pro-cigarette and nothing could be further from the truth (see previous post: http://slaphand.blogspot.com/2009/04/smokers-tax.html). But, for Christ sake, smoking ain't illegal, but you'd think it was with the way the FDA treats the smoking industry.

Let's think about this... is any other industry producing dangerous items. hmmmm...

The gun industry: People get killed by guns... Should the stocks of all guns bear images of people with a shotgun blast to the face on them. The warning would read "hey kid, you'll shoot your eye out!"

The car industry: People get killed in car accidents... should all cars have pictures of mangled up accident victims on the sun visors with the other warnings about wearing your seat belt. It'd be lovely to pull down the visor on a particularly sunny day and have a ghastly image of someones face that went through a windshield at 70 mph and a warning that says "BUCKLE UP DUMB ASS!"

McDonald's: Ever see 'Super Size Me?' How about a picture of a 400 pound guy with his butt crack showing, woofing down 704 calories of Big Mac on your McDonald's bag. Or maybe his enlarged heart, that is about the size of a canned ham, sitting in an operating plate after he's ceased out.

And there's more...

Airlines: burnt decapitated bodies on tray tables.

Butter: a big ol juicy clogged artery on your Land 'O' Lakes tub.

Swimming pools: A big ol naked, bloated, floater.

Bacon: Actually there's nothing bad about bacon, they have the best marketing people in the world. It's a solid chunk of grease and fat that you'd think was a miracle food. "Everything is better with bacon!" They are even making Bacon flavored soda now... it's delicious (and I may have just thrown up in my mouth a bit). http://seattlest.com/2010/11/09/bacon_soda--meet_pinot_pop.php

Alcohol: Me... sloshed, on one of those labels you see through the bottle.

Viagra: A dead guy with a boner that didn't go away in 4 hours etched into that tiny little blue pill.

etc. etc. etc.

My point is, if I'm the cigarette industry why am I trying. I mean, WTF. I'd be asking myself how is the legal. You let me SELL cigarettes but you make me post labels on my product that says IF YOU SMOKE, YOU WILL DIE. Isn't that sort of a contradiction. If you are so sure people are dying shouldn't this be illegal. We're killing 400,000 people a year and your like, "ahh, put a really gruesome picture on the label and, ahh, good luck." That's just f***ed up.

Again, not a fan of the smoking... but last time I checked it was legal.

So why doesn't the FDA just put Big Tobacco out of it's misery and make smoking illegal? What's preventing that from happening? I mean, seriously, is Big Tobacco so BIG and their lobby so strong that this can't happen. The government is sitting back saying, we love the thousands you employ, we love the huge taxes that smokers pay, we love f***ing with you, we know cigarettes kill people, but go ahead smoke 'em if you got 'em, we don't want to piss you off and possibly lose your vote.

It all just seems a little contrite to me.

To view the labels the FDA wants to slap on your pack of smokes and to voice your opinion the the topic see the link below.

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm233258.htm