FDA

The federal government will now allow companies that sell "nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products," such as Nicorette, not to put warning labels on their merchandise, the Food and Drug Administration announced. The change, the FDA now admits, is because the warnings, which were mandated for the last 30 years, were misguided from the very beginning.

"When nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products were first marketed almost 30 years ago to help people stop smoking, there wasn't a lot of data available on how long consumers could safely use them, and whether they could be used in combination with other NRTs or continued smoking," writes the FDA.

"That has changed in the intervening years as researchers conducted studies and clinical trials."

And the FDA now admits they were wrong from the beginning. "Now, the Food and Drug Administration—after reviewing scientific research on the safety of NRT products sold over the counter (OTC)—has decided that some warnings and limitations specified in the directions for use on the labels of these products are no longer necessary to make sure they are used safely and effectively to quit smoking," writes the feds.

"The changes that FDA is allowing to these labels reflect the fact that although any nicotine-containing product is potentially addictive, decades of research and use have shown that NRT products sold OTC do not appear to have significant potential for abuse or dependence.

"The changes being recommended by FDA include a removal of the warning that consumers should not use an NRT product if they are still smoking, chewing tobacco, using snuff or any other product that contains nicotine—including another NRT.

"NRTs are FDA-approved for adults ages 18 and over who want to quit smoking. Smokers' dependence on nicotine prevents many who try to quit from being successful, and these products supply controlled amounts of nicotine to ease withdrawal symptoms."

Last Friday, I noted that the Obama administration FDA was set to carry out a ban on asthma inhalers over environmental concerns because the propellant in them contains greenhouse gases.

Anthony Bourdain, celebrity chef and host of the Travel Channel's very popular "No Reservations" does not mince words about the possibility future overbearing salt regulation.

In this otherwise depressing Time piece that, among other creepy sentiments, asserts that "we can be trained" to get by with less sodium and calls salt a dietary "cocaine," Bourdain's delightfully politically incorrect sentiment is, well, the salt and the light.