Senators and Respresentatives criticize FDA and OMB for cost-benefit analysis that undermines public health

Members of the US Senate and House of Representatives sent a strongly worded letter to the FDA and Office of Management and Budget last week criticising the agencies for grossly understating the benefits of tobacco regulation, then discounting these understanded benefits because of lost "consumer surplus," i.e., the lost pleasure due to no longer smoking.
 
They also highlight the implications for other health and safety regulations, like nutrition standards, that the FDA and OMB economists have suggested should also be  the object of a consumer surplus discount.
 
Read the full letter here.