In a new report commissioned by the international journal Respirology, the publishers Wiley-Blackwell presented the peculiar evidence that the sale of jam is governed by far more rigorous regulations than cigarettes. "Regulation of Consumer Products: The Bizarre Case of Strawberry Jam and Cigarettes"

Cigarettes unregulated
The author of the study entitled "Regulation of Consumer Products: The Bizarre Case of Strawberry Jam and Cigarettes", Dr Nigel Gray of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Tobacco Regulation Study Group (TobReg), emphasises the difference in regulation between major consumer products that are imported and exported worldwide. Conserves, for example, have to pass stringent tests before going to market, whereas cigarettes can and do go to market entirely unregulated, with manufacturers adding in whatever substances they wish.

Tobacco control
Dr. Gray states that guideline amounts of major carcinogens are needed, that they should be upheld by manufacturers and also those countries importing cigarettes from abroad. The WHO is pioneering this project and is in the final stages of setting up its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which will roll out guideline amounts to the world on what cigarettes should contain.

Dr. Gray says this needn't be a lengthy process. "There is no need for an expensive bureaucracy to oversee this regulation. Countries can simply mandate TobReg's recommendations and publicize them as advice from the world's central public health board. Countries without cigarette manufacturing facilities can simply refuse to import cigarette that do not meet these standards."