Reflections on legal regulation of tobacco industry and public health

Abstract

Business activity is based on the circulation of goods or services, however in the case of tobacco activity; this product is linked to the presence of nicotine, an addictive substance. This paper investigates the legal regulation of the tobacco industry, especially regarding to federal rules on nicotine and its ability to cause harm to the health. This is an exploratory descriptive study, based on the bibliographical and documentary research procedure and a qualitative data approach. Concerning to tobacco industry, tobacco itself, has a strong addictive power that causes serious health damage, being also the main preventable cause of death in the world. Federal law regulates the economic activity in the tobacco industry in different forms, warning about the danger of nicotine, setting limits on its consumption, but do not prohibit the presence of nicotine in tobacco products, although recognizes nicotine causes psychological or chemical dependency.