Congressman Jim Gerlach Responds

I had somewhat good news today when a letter was received from Congressman Jim Gerlach, 6th District Pennsylvania. Hopefully, there will be progress made here. I have included the text of the letter received and the letter sent to Dr. Deyton below.

Dear Mr. Jaromnak:

Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about the safety of fire safe cigarettes. I appreciate the opportunity to respond.

As you may know, The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which became law on June 22, 2009, gives the Food and Drug Administration new regulatory oversight over cigarettes. Specifically, it creates a Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee within the Administration to provide advice, information, and recommendations to FDA on such issues as safety, dependence, or other health effects. As such, I am sending a copy of your correspondence to Dr. Lawrence Deyton, the Chairman of this Committee, for his further review and input.

Again, thank you for contacting me with your concerns, and I will be back in touch once we get a reply from Dr. Deyton.

_____

Dr. Lawrence Deyton
Chairman
Center For Tobacco Products
Food and Drug Administration
9200 Corporate Blvd.
Rockville, MD 20850

Dear Dr. Deyton:

Attached herewith is correspondence from David Jaromnak, a constituent of mine and the Director of Citizens Against Fire Safe Cigarettes. Mr. Jaromnak is concerned with the potentially harmful effects of "fire safe" cigarettes. I hope you will take the opportunity to review his correspondence, and provide me with your thoughts on the health-related concerns he raises regarding the product.

With kind regards, I am

Sincerely,

Jim Gerlach
Member of Congress