This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Wednesday, August 8th, 2007. I'm Caleb Brown.

FDA regulation of tobacco could be here sooner rather than later but why is the tobacco

industry agreeing to some demands of those who might be perfectly willing to make

tobacco illegal and are we getting closer to prohibition on tobacco?

Regulation magazine managing editor Tom Fyri says this turn of events shouldn't be at all surprising.

I guess what's animating it most of all is it's good politics.

You know people, you know we have a strong dislike of cigarettes in the society.

It's just become the popular thing to hate.

Cigarette smokers are becoming a smaller and smaller part of the population and they themselves aren't standing up for themselves too much because let's face it they know they ought and be doing it purely from a personal health choice.

So here's something that people can can make a dramatic pose, you

know, I'm pro good things, I'm anti bad things, I'm anti cigarettes.

But there are people within the industry, the tobacco industry, that are more than willing to accept

regulation from the FDA.

Why is that?

Yeah, that's the interesting part of the dynamic, at least Altria, which is the umbrella company under which Philip Morris

has come out as being in favor of this tobacco of some level of tobacco regulation

and it has some people

people scratching their heads

until you realize Altria would love to be in a position

where they can kind of freeze the market

as it is now with Altria's brands on top,

with the Marlboro man standing proudly

...