ABSTRACT
In 1994, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was considering classifying cigarettes as a nicotine-dispensing device thereby putting manufacturing and selling of cigarettes under FDA jurisdiction. The FDA is the governmental agency at the Federal (national) level responsible for safety of food and drugs. This proposal was extraordinary controversial as it would, with the change in classification, allow the FDA to exercise broad authority over all aspects of the cigarette business. In a New York Times article about this proposal, Anna Quindlen remarked, 'Whether talking about addiction, taxation (on cigarettes) or education (about smoking), there is always at the center of the conversation as essential conundrum: How come we're selling this deadly stuff anyway?' (New York Times, 15 October 1994: A15).
