Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
12/1/2016
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Decision on the legitimacy of the Agency to ban additives in tobacco smoke products will be taken by the STF in the coming days. Directors of Anvisa visited ministers to detail the issue.
The Federal Supreme Court (STF) is expected to judge, in the coming days, the Direct Action of Unconstitutionality (ADIN) No. 4874, which questions the legitimacy of Anvisa for the prohibition of the use of additives in tobacco products.
On behalf of this ADIN, Anvisa's CEO, Jarbas Barbosa, and the director of Sanitary Regulation and Sanitary Authorization and Registration, Fernando Mendes, went to the STF to clarify the reasons why the Agency wants to prohibit the use of substances that have Just the function of masking flavors, odors and bad sensations in cigarettes and other smoke products, with the aim of making users use these products more and more.
"Me and the director Fernando Mendes visited several STF ministers since last week. We were accompanied by the Attorney General of the Union, Dr. Grace Mendonça, and the team that is in charge of the defense of the Union. We handed the ministers a memorial with all the information and information about the process, "Jarbas Barbosa reported.
The document submitted by Anvisa representatives describes that, over the years, Brazil has advanced in the control of tobacco products derived from tobacco and also in the fight against smoking. This advance was made possible through the adoption of several normative measures, one of the first being Law 9,294 of July 15, 1996, which restricted the advertising and use of these products.
In 2003, Brazil became a signatory to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), whose internalization in the country occurred through Decree No. 655/2006. This Convention, which currently has 181 States Parties, aims to adopt joint measures for the control of tobacco products and the global fight against smoking.
The Decree establishes the need to take measures to combat initiation and support the cessation of tobacco consumption and reinforces that these actions are based on scientific evidence, aiming at the reduction of smoking.
Brazil and the other Parties Parties that have adhered to the FCTC have made a commitment that "there is no justification for permitting the use of ingredients such as flavoring agents, which helps to make tobacco products attractive" and there are recommendations for countries to ban or Restrict the use in tobacco products of ingredients that increase palatability, confer coloration, cause false impression of health benefit, and are stimulants.
In compliance with the determinations of the FCTC, Anvisa published RDC No. 14 of March 15, 2012, which set forth maximum limits for tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarettes, prohibited the use of words such as "light", " Soft "," soft ", among others and restricted the use of additive substances in tobacco products derived from tobacco, allowing only the use of the additives indispensable to the production process.
Despite the publication of Anvisa's regulation, the use of additives is still permitted in the country by virtue of an injunction granted at the request of the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), through ADIN to be judged in the STF.
In order to justify RDC No. 14/2012, Anvisa published Technical Note No. 10/2013, which presents detailed arguments for all allegations made through ADIN. Among them, it is possible to highlight:
The use of bronchodilator substances in order to increase the absorption of nicotine by the bronchi and, consequently, their potential to cause dependence;
The use of substances that inhibit the metabolism of nicotine, leaving it more present in the bloodstream and causing its effect to be intensified;
The use of anesthetic substances to reduce airway irritation; and
The use of substances that mask the taste and bad odor of the product, as well as the irritation caused by cigarette smoke, making it more palatable.
Corroborating with the information already presented by Anvisa, the World Health Organization published in 2014 a document in which it reaffirms and presents scientific evidence that the use of some additive substances aims to increase the power to cause dependence on products derived from tobacco.
These are: ammonia (increases free nicotine and masks poor taste of the product); Eugenol and menthol (triggering analgesia and less irritability for increased aspiration of the smoke and nicotine availability in the lungs).
It also mentions additives as substances intentionally added to products with the aim of increasing palatability, improving appearance, creating a false sense of health benefit, as well as increasing energy and vitality.
Source: Anvisa
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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.