Tobacco Advocates Fuming Over Canadian Legislation

"If other countries follow Canada's lead, the market for American-style tobacco products will be nonexistent outside the U.S.," said Wayne Pryor, president of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.

In a recent letter to Canadian officials protesting the measure, Kentucky Farm Bureau President Mark Haney called it an "overreaching attempt" that would "destroy a legal market in Canada" and kill U.S. agricultural jobs.

U.S. burley production has plummeted since the demise of a government quota system earlier in the decade and as smoking bans gained a solid foothold. Yet the leaf remains an important cash crop for about 8,100 farmers in Kentucky — the nation's top burley producer.

Tobacco-belt lawmakers have joined the debate from afar, claiming the measure would cause hardships for many farm families and infringe on trade agreements. Their objections come on the heels of historic legislation by the U.S. Congress, which bans sweetening cigarettes with flavors or herbs such as clove. The bill also allows the Food and Drug Administration to regulate what goes into tobacco products.

In separate letters, U.S. Reps. Ed Whitfield and Brett Guthrie, both R-Ky., called the Canadian bill a "protectionist measure" that would violate the North American Free Trade Agreement.