Tag Archive for: tobacco

‘A Devastating Impact’: Harris’s Silence On Key Biden Policy Leaves American Farmers In The Lurch

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American farmers are still waiting for answers from Vice President Kamala Harris on a Biden administration policy that could have detrimental effects to their livelihood.

President Joe Biden’s administration was set to ban menthol cigarettes just before April 2024, until concerns arose that such a move could have negative political implications. The administration has since paused progress on the ban, though the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) top tobacco official has indicated that they are still planning to implement the rule. While Harris has not clarified where she stands on the issue, tobacco farmers in North Carolina, who the Daily Caller spoke to, are worried about what could happen to their farms if the vice president goes through with the ban.

“It would destroy one of North Carolina’s biggest industries and destroy thousands of American jobs and businesses. It would have a devastating impact on many hard-working families not only in North Carolina but in other states too,” Linwood Vick, a tobacco farmer in North Carolina told the Caller.

“President Biden and VP Harris have put us in limbo for years with this proposed ban, and now, as the Democratic presidential candidate, she hasn’t said a word about it. I’m frustrated by the political games, and I’m worried about our family’s business, the many people this industry employs, and what the future of North Carolina would look like if a menthol ban was put in place,” Vick continued.

Though Harris has not clarified her position on a menthol ban since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, the vice president has previously shown support for one. As California Attorney General in 2013, Harris signed onto a letter to the FDA pressing them to ban e-cigarettes. In 2018, while a U.S. senator, Harris co-signed a letter urging the FDA director to move forward with a ban on flavored tobacco products and menthol.

“A lot of farmers are worried that [a Harris] administration will try and push something like this, and if it does, if it is passed, a lot of farmers have said that they would just quit farming altogether, because tobacco is really the only thing that keeps them alive when in our area,” Archie Griffin, a third-generation tobacco farmer in North Carolina, told the Caller.

Aside from losing their jobs completely, Ray Sterling, general counsel of the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, told the Caller that such a ban, or lack of clarity on one, is on farmers’ minds as they prepare for the next crop season.

“[A farmer] has to make planting decisions and reserve fertilizer and buy supplies many times in December prior to the next crop year. And so as we’re entering fall, many farmers are starting to think about what they’re going to grow next year. This could have a massive impact on demand, if nothing else, it could be disruptive. It could make everybody play wait and see,” Sterling explained.

“Farmers are no different than any other business owner. They crave reliability and certainty and  predictability. That’s missing here,” he added.

Within North Carolina, 822 tobacco farms produce $36 billion of output and add $31 billion to state GDP, according to the John Locke Foundation. Those farms employ around 5,000 workers for about $370 million.

Produce wholesale in North Carolina provides $15.3 billion in revenue, contributes $9 billion to the state GDP and keeps 4,500 people employed, the John Locke Foundation reported.

As the numbers show, and as Griffin explained to the Caller, the impact of tobacco farms in the state goes beyond the industry.

“It goes into affecting an economic impact on taxes, farmers, the tobacco industry and a manufacturing impact. Just a quick idea, it’s estimated that the menthol industry, data shows, is valued at 39 billion each year. If a menthol ban was placed on those products, those consumers aren’t going to just stop smoking altogether or stop consuming those products there,” Griffin explained.

“They’re going to switch to alternatives or start putting menthol in themselves. If they can’t get that menthol product, the consumers are going to go to illicit trade products that are either smuggled in here, and when they go to that product, the government’s looking at a loss of of revenue,” he added.

Former President Donald Trump and Harris are locked in a tight race in North Carolina. According to a Washington Post poll, 50% of the state’s voters support Trump and 48% back Harris. The poll has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points and surveyed 1,001 North Carolinians.

And with 16 electoral votes on the line in North Carolina, the farmers told the Caller that the impacts of a potential menthol ban are being considered by voters.

“I will tell you people are paying attention, and I think there’s reason for that,” Sterling told the Caller. “I could just tell you, ‘yes this is going to matter,’ but let me tell you why. Particularly in the agriculture community today, they really have their backs up against the wall for all that we’ve seen with regard to inflation, particularly of food prices. None of that increase has made its way down to the farm.”

When the administration was considering the rule in October 2023, retired law enforcement professionals and GOP strategists told the Caller that it could cost Biden big with black voters.

Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in 2021 that such a rule would “address health disparities experienced by communities of color, low-income populations and LGBTQ+ individuals, all of whom are far more likely to use these tobacco products.” Health experts contend that a ban is needed because menthol cigarettes disproportionately harm black Americans, and a ban could save a significant number of lives.

The Biden-Harris administration’s proposal of the rule used euphemisms to indicate it was aimed at leveling health outcomes between racial groups, noting that the rule would “reduce tobacco-related health disparities and advance health equity.”

“The black community and the Latino community, I think [the Biden-Harris campaign] runs the risk of losing votes from there because I think primarily what it is, is a similar scenario to the 1980s crime bill, and just not paying attention to what can potentially happen,” Maj. Neill Franklin, a retired law enforcement veteran of the Maryland State Police and Baltimore Police Department, told the Caller in 2023.

“These are adults, black adults, that are not happy with this policy. Why are you taking their ability away from them to use menthol cigarettes? It’s clear that this is focused upon the black community and these are adults who know the dangers of smoking, but yet, why is the government trying to be their parent?” he added.

With the race neck-and-neck, Harris has faced questions about her policy proposals and flip-flopping. On some topics, the Harris campaign is completely silent on where the vice president stands.

The Harris campaign did not respond to the Daily Caller’s inquiry on where the vice president stands on a menthol ban and if she would propose one if elected in November. The vice president did recently say that she could not think of anything that she would do differently from President Biden’s past four years. 

“I think it affects the tobacco states because you’re going right at the heartland,” Rich Marianos, former Assistant Director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told the Caller. “You’re going at an industry that makes money for the states, especially you bring in Kentucky, you bring in Virginia, you bring in North Carolina. Tobacco farmers since the history of this country have been a big part of the fabric of community. Taking away a large percentage of that product and taking away their ability to farm that is going to have domino effects.”

AUTHOR

Reagan Reese

White House Correspondent. Follow Reagan on Twitter.

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‘Very, Very Significant’: A Quiet New Move Could Spell Disaster For Biden With Black Voters

Harris Tells ‘The View’ There’s Not A Thing She Would’ve Done Different Than Joe Biden

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Former FDA Official Cozied Up To Activists Months Before Joining Them, Emails Show

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A former senior U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official hobnobbed with employees from an anti-tobacco nonprofit just months before coming on as the group’s CEO, emails show.

Kathy Crosby, who played a leading role in shaping public health policy while serving as the director of Health Communication and Education at the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, became the president and CEO of the Truth Initiative, an anti-tobacco and anti-nicotine activist organization, in August 2023.

Prior to her exit from the FDA, emails obtained by the Functional Government Initiative (FGI) and exclusively shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation show Crosby hobnobbing with Truth Initiative employees and even corresponding with the group’s then CEO about setting up a meeting. 

“The emails the Daily Caller showed us raise some serious red flags,” Michael Chamberlain, director of the nonpartisan watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust, told the DCNF.

“A federal employee is prohibited from accepting gifts, including comped tickets to conferences and galas, that are offered to her because of her status as a federal employee,” Chamberlain said. “That Ms. Crosby appears to have solicited the invitation to the gala she attended compounds the problematic nature of this episode. That she may have leveraged the event as an opportunity to seek outside employment is icing on the cake.”

Federal employees are barred both from soliciting gifts “to be given because of the employee’s official position” as well as from accepting those gifts. Additionally, they are prohibited from using their office for “private gain.” FDA employees are also barred from “seeking or negotiating for employment, that conflict with official Government duties and responsibilities.”

In April 2022, the Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids (CTFK) offered Crosby free tickets to its 2022 gala. Crosby was busy that year, so she declined the tickets but asked CTFK to “keep [her] in mind for next year’s event.”

Roughly a year later, Crosby responded to the same email thread and asked the CTFK if it would be “extending an invitation to any FDA colleagues to attend” the 2023 gala. Hours later, the organization offered Crosby complimentary tickets, which she then accepted, saying that she “should definitely be able to join” them this year.

Emails show that Crosby indeed attended the May 18, 2023, CTFK gala and networked with employees of the Truth Initiative while there.

Shortly after attending CTFK’s gala, Crosby emailed then-Truth Initiative president and CEO Robin Koval on May 22 to schedule a meeting so the two could “catch-up.” In the email, she also mentioned that she had already met with Howard Koh, a member of the organization’s board of directors, and other staff at the gala. Koval and Crosby ultimately agreed to meet on May 24, 2023.

“There’s a reason taxpayers are troubled by incestuous relationships between government agencies and activist groups and public health agencies are proving to be no exception,” Functional Government Initiative spokesperson Peter McGinnis said.

“These activist groups have business before the agencies—we know, for example, that [Trust Initiative] lobbies the FDA to increase fines on tobacco product manufacturers and sellers, while also spending millions to advocate for new product bans,” McGinnis continued. “It’s a coup for [Trust Initiative] to land a CEO who knows her way around the FDA, and it’s a lucrative jump for Ms. Crosby.”

On Aug. 15, 2023, Truth Initiative’s board announced its appointment of Crosby as the group’s president and CEO. Following the announcement, and while Crosby was still at the FDA, multiple Truth Initiative employees reached out via email to congratulate her.

“I just wanted to reach out and send a note to say congratulations,” one email from the group’s vice president of communications, Sarah Shank, reads. “It’s always a pleasure working with you and your team at FDA and I’m beyond thrilled to work with you in this new capacity here at Truth Initiative.”

“So excited for this next chapter with our organization,” Tina Morgan, the organization’s vice president of sponsorships, said.

Truth Initiative and Crosby didn’t respond to requests for comment.

“During Kathy Crosby’s 12 years as the Director for CTP’s Office of Health Communication and Education, she frequently communicated via email, phone calls, and in-person meetings with a wide range of stakeholders, including those from national public health organizations, industry, media, and state/local organizations,” an FDA spokesperson told the DCNF.

Crosby “immediately” notified the FDA that she was looking for a job outside the government and “recused herself from any official actions that would financially impact her future employer,” the spokesperson said, adding that Crosby’s attendance at the gala was also “reviewed and approved by FDA ethics officials” prior to the event.

In 2022, the Truth Initiative was hard at work attempting to influence policy through the FDA and other federal agencies.

According to the nonprofit’s 2022 annual report, they submitted 14 comments to federal agencies, provided “policy analyses and research” to inform FDA policymaking, urged the FDA to act against popular synthetic nicotine products, like ZYN, and recruited youth activists to submit comments to the FDA regarding its proposed rule to remove flavored cigars and menthol cigarettes from the market.

During her time at the FDA, Crosby was involved in crafting health warnings for cigarette packages and advertisements, formulating marketing restrictions for new tobacco products and shaping national policy broadly, according to her Truth Initiative biography.

Crosby spearheaded “public education and regulatory communication programs” which aided the federal government in successfully implementing the Tobacco Control Act, which regulates how tobacco products can be marketed.

AUTHOR

ROBERT SCHMAD

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLE: Activist Group’s Leader Declines To Participate In House Hearing On Her Org’s Alleged Influence Over Biden Admin

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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Matt Gaetz Calls To Abolish The ATF After Agency Issues Rule Allegedly Making It Harder For Certain People To Buy Guns

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Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced legislation Wednesday that would abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) after they enacted a rule that would make pistol stabilizing braces illegal for anyone without a certain license.

The legislation, titled the “Abolish the ATF Act,” would totally eliminate the ATF immediately after the bill is enacted. Gaetz introduced the bill after the ATF announced they would make gun owners face the possibility of being charged with a felony if they do not register their firearms with the stabilizing braces.

Gaetz said that the House GOP has the ATF in their “crosshairs.”

“House Republicans have the ATF in our crosshairs. The continued existence of the ATF is increasingly unwarranted based on their repeated actions to convert law-abiding citizens into felons. They must be stopped. My bill today would abolish the ATF once and for all,” Gaetz said in a statement.

READ THE LEGISLATION HERE: 

(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers

In June of 2021, Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also introduced legislation that would abolish ATF if signed into law, which Gaetz was a co-sponsor of. The Daily Caller first obtained that legislation, titled the “Brian A. Terry Memorial Eliminate the ATF Act.” The bill was named after Marine and Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, who was killed in a gunfight after a group of armed men attempted to rob smugglers who were transporting drugs from Mexico to the U.S.

The Caller also broke the news of legislation introduced by Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall in the Senate that would protect Americans’ second amendment rights from the ATF-proposed registry for firearms with stabilizing braces.

Democrats have been focused on passing legislation that would stop gun trafficking, ban the import, sale, manufacture, transfer or possession of high-capacity magazines, raise the purchase age for certain rifles from 18 to 21 and promote safer storage of guns.

AUTHOR

HENRY RODGERS

Chief national correspondent. Follow Henry Rodgers On Twitter

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EDITORS NOTE:

There is Only One Way to Prevent Shariah from Destroying America

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I am not going to spend hours and hours to answer this question.  America, Israel, Canada, and other non Islamic countries can be spared their destruction from the evils of the Islamic ideology by only one method.

I am not a war monger, not do I desire any form of violence, or want to see innocent children harmed by a war in their country.  I am providing my professional analysis of a very serious problem.  The problem is the Islamic ideology.  It is an ideology that lives, breeds, and grows faster than any known terminal form of cancer.

If we do not want America to be destroyed it is going to take Americans saying no to Islam.  Not just with bumper stickers.  Americans are going to have to demand the Islamic ideology and Shariah law to be labeled as an Islamic terrorist group.

Al Qaeda, Hamas, Boko Haram, and the dozens of other Islamic terrorist groups are just splinters from the Islamic ideology itself.  There is no good with such violent groups as the KKK, Al Sharpton’s organization, or the Islamic ideology.

Think back the last decade, how many days have gone by in which Islam and their murderers have not been in the world news.  In the name of Islam, their fighters have murdered thousands upon thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

Americans must stand up and fight the ‘Holy War’ Islamic leaders have always expressed their desire for.  The days of shaking hands and allowing Islam to spread in America are gone.  There are approximately 2300 mosques in America. Their numbers are growing and existing mosques are expanding in size.

How do Americans fight? 

Again this is my analysis, not my desire.  During the civil war Americans (due to politics) had to fight other Americans.  Politicians left Americans with no choice.  In 2014 after six long years of Socialist Obama, politics are again pitting Americans against people living in America.  The people within Islam are not Americans, regardless of what a court or politician dictates.  One can only be an American if he/she vows to put the U.S. Constitution as the supreme law of the land.  An American vows to give his/her life for America against enemies from the inside and out.

The Islamic ideology and it’s followers living in America do not support the U.S. Constitution over Shariah law.  If a Muslim tells you he/she does, they are lying to you. The only solution to save America is for America to be a land for Americans only or those who would give their life to support the U.S. Constitution. If a person does not meet this requirement then he/she should be considered an enemy of America.

Boko Haram, the group that kidnapped 300 innocent Christian children in Nigeria are practicing Islam as Mohammed and Shariah law dictate.  They are not radical. They are ‘Pure Muslims’ who desire to live in a land as Mohammed wanted.  They are just carrying out his commands. See:

Shariah Law: Family Stones Pregnant Lady

Muslim Clerics Resist Stopping Child Marriages 

Trolley Square, SLC, Utah: Murders By Muslim

On 12 Feb 2007, a Muslim left a mosque in Salt Lake City, Utah.  He proceeded to Trolley Square Mall and murdered 5 innocent people in the name of Islam. I had personally conducted research at this mosque and rated it at the highest level for the potential of violence. This mosque is about a one minute walk to the Shopping Mall.

A bit of interesting trivia:

  • How many people die on average each year due to ‘Guns’?  30,000
  • How many people die on average each year due to ‘Alcohol’?  88,000
  • How many people die each year due to ‘Tobacco’?  443,000
  • How many Babies’ are murdered each year in the name of ‘Abortion’?  1.7 million

Do readers truly believe politicians, our law enforcement, media, or liberals really want to save Americans from needless death?  Why do they choose to put guns as their number one enemy, when a hundred times more die from Alcohol or Tobacco?  A thousand times more innocent babies are killed by abortions each year in America than people killed by guns (30,000).

It would be more appropriate for these hypocrites to ban alcohol, tobacco, and stop murdering innocent children if they really care about human life. The fact is, sadly, they don’t care.