The Competitive Enterprise Institute believes the proper role for government is to provide consumers with accurate, unbiased guidance that informs consumer choice. But, whether it is the substances we prefer, how we entertain ourselves, what dietary habits we maintain, or how we pursue personal health, consumers ought to have the right to make decisions for themselves.
Consumer Freedom Issue Areas
Featured Posts
Blog
California’s $20 fast food worker minimum wage a regressive tax
California’s new $20 an hour minimum wage for fast food restaurants has turned into a regressive tax on the state’s low-income residents. People who wanted…
Blog
FDA makes lab test power play
The Food and Drug Administration has just released its long anticipated final rule that explicitly asserts its claim of authority to regulate laboratory-developed-tests (LDTs)—tests that are designed, manufactured,…
Blog
Department of Energy is coming after our light bulbs – again
We have already said goodbye to the incandescent light bulb, thanks to federal regulations. Will its replacement be next? Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency regulations…
Search Posts
Blog
FDA’s Fake E-cigarette News
Journalists aren’t the only purveyors of “fake news.” Federal agencies also generate misleading headlines. Sometimes, they do it with a purpose. That seems to be…
Blog
Help Wanted: Seeking Commissioner for Food and Drug Administration
In a tidal wave of Washington drama, President Trump’s Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb abruptly and unexpectedly announced in March 2019 that he…
Blog
Maryland’s Nanny State Targets Foam Cups and Containers
Maryland consumers may soon be deprived of one of my favorite products: plastic foam coffee cups. The Maryland House of Delegates has already passed a…
News Release
Trump Budget Seeks Ill-Advised E-Cigarette Tax
President Trump’s budget submitted to Congress today contains an ill-advised tax on e-cigarettes. CEI Senior Fellow Michelle Minton says such a tax would do less…
Blog
States Challenge Federal Internet Gambling Ban
This January, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an opinion that threatens legal online gambling in the U.S. The tenuous rationale on which the opinion…
Blog
E-Cigarette Puritans Risk Lives
Tobacco companies faced a savage backlash in the 1990s when the public realized they willfully misled the world about the dangers of smoking. Yet when…
News Release
FDA, Activists Put Smokers’ Lives at Risk with Misleading Claims about E-Cigarettes
The FDA is working on a plan to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes from convenience stores nationwide -- which is precisely the sort of…
Study
Anti-E-Cigarette Puritans Put Lives at Risk
Big tobacco companies were publicly pilloried when they were found to have misled the public about the dangers of their products. To this day, that…
News Release
FDA Ban on Sale of Flavored E-Cigarettes Bad for Public Health
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has reportedly given the White House his plan for stopping the sale of flavored e-cigarettes in convenience stores…
Vaping Post
The Department of Health and Human Services and Vaping: A tale of Bootleggers and Baptists
Vaping Post cited Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on e-cigarettes. To further understand the concepts that I’m presenting, we need to consider some basic…
The Jersey Journal
Plastic Bags in Hoboken are a No-No Starting Tuesday
The Jersey Journal cited Senior Fellow Angela Logomasini on plastic bag bans: The bans are less popular with Angela Logomasini, a senior fellow…
Fox Business
Payday loan regulations rollback is win for business, consumers
Chalk up another win for President Trump’s deregulatory agenda – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last week announced a plan to reconsider an Obama-era regulation…
News Release
CEI Report Calls for Elimination of EPA’s Flawed Integrated Risk Information System
A new report released today by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) shows EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) has significant problems with methodology, relies on…
Blog
Plastic Bag Ban Mania Will Do More Harm than Good
An anti-plastics craze has swept the country and the globe, prompting lawmakers to propose and impose bans on various plastic products—from straws to shopping bags…
News Release
Court Ruling Against Soda Warning Labels Praised by CEI Experts
Today, a federal appeals court blocked a San Francisco law mandating health warning labels on ads for soda and other sugary drinks, saying the law…
Blog
Ninth Circuit Strikes Down Soda Labeling Ban for Wrong Reasons
This week the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held unconstitutional the size requirement in San Francisco’s soda warning labeling regulation. However, there are broader…
Reason
Georgia’s ‘Mimosa Mandate’ Is a Victory for Alcohol Freedom
Reason cited Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on alcohol regulations: Why stifle alcohol sales when they’re clearly the miracle elixir society needs? Michelle Minton…
The Washington Post
TPA Foot-Dragging Costs 30 Lives a Day
In early 1985 the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute halted a study of two heart-attack therapies that it had begun less than six months…
New York Post
Science Shows that it’s Not Really Green to Ban Plastic Bags
As if grocery shopping weren’t enough of a hassle, it’s about to become even more inconvenient in New York — for no good reason.
Blog
Department of Justice Disregards Intent of Congress on Internet Gambling
Congress was not vague in its intent when it enacted the Wire Act in 1961. The law, developed and supported by then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy,…
Blog
Agenda for the 116th Congress: Consumer Freedom
The second-to-last chapter in the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s agenda for the 116th Congress focuses on consumer freedom. Specifically, the chapter recommends ways Congress can rein…
Inside Sources
Green Movement’s Holiday Shopping Advice is Toxic to Your Pocketbook
As the holiday revelry begins, self-proclaimed “consumer advocates” have sounded the alarm about so-called “toxic toys”—toys that supposedly contain dangerous chemicals. But don’t let them…
Blog
VIDEO: What Beer Can Teach Us about Well-Crafted Laws
Our friends at the Federalist Society have released a fun and informative new short film on the history of beer and alcohol regulation. …
Inside Sources
Unfounded E-Cigarette Panic Puts Public Health at Risk
E-cigarettes pose a tiny percent of the risk of cigarette smoking, just 1 percent to 5 percent according to authorities like the United Kingdom government.
Products
Free to Prosper: Food, Drugs, and Consumer Freedom
View the full chapter on food, drugs, and consumer freedom here Few matters are as important to consumers as the foods they eat, the…
Inside Sources
Vaping and Harm Reduction: A Brief Analysis of Policy, Academic Conclusions, and Hysteria
Inside Sources cited CEI’s study by Senior Fellow Michelle Minton, “Fear Profiteers.” Additionally, in a recent commentary piece written for the Capital Research…
ATT.net
Hold The Eggnog: States That Limit Alcohol Sales On Christmas Day
ATT.net cited CEI on holiday alcohol sales. In nearly half the nation, its actually illegal to sell alcohol on Christmas Day, according to…
The Washington Examiner
Think Tank: Make Fed Policy More Market-Driven
The Washington Examiner cited Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on the prohibition mindset. Michelle Minton for the Competitive Enterprise Institute: On December 5, 1933…
Blog
5 Myths about E-cigarettes and Public Health
My colleague Michelle Minton recently released an excellent new study on the health impact of e-cigarettes and why some people are misrepresenting the risks involved…
Fox Business
Conservatives should resist the urge to regulate Big Tech
Nearly every day there seems to be another story that demonstrates that Big Tech is biased against conservatives. Recently, we saw the “lifetime” ban of conservative…
Blog
85 Years after Repeal, Prohibition Lingers in Your Beer
On December 5, 1933 the federal government’s nationwide prohibition against alcohol ended. Eighty-five years later, the beer market seems to have finally recovered. Today, there…
Life Zette
Gov’t May Use Dubious Research To Attack E-Cigs, Report Claims
Life Zette cited CEI’s Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on electronic cigarettes. Federal agencies and activist groups have been propping up dubious research in…
Blog
Conflict of Interest over Vaping Threatens Public Health
Cigarette smoking kills nearly half a million Americans every year, and for every person who dies due to smoking, at least 30 people live with…
News Release
Unfounded E-Cigarette Fears Help Health Activist Groups But Harm Public Health
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report reveals how health activist groups and government agencies jeopardize public health by promoting the unfounded notion that e-cigarettes are…
Blog
Can You Buy Alcohol on Christmas (and New Year’s Day) in Your State?
The holidays bring parties, feasts, and libations. But some celebrants may find themselves without a cup of cheer if they wait until the day of a…
Fox News
John Stossel: Is Vaping E-Cigarettes Really A Health Crisis?
Fox News cited CEI’s Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on e-cigarettes. Yet compared to regular cigarettes, e-cigarettes are “extraordinarily less harmful,” says Michelle Minton…
Study
Fear Profiteers
The rise of a vibrant market for e-cigarettes has been a blessing for many smokers. After many failed attempts to quit, e-cigarettes provide an exciting…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Opposing Procedures Restricting Senior Social Security and Medicare Access
On behalf of the undersigned individuals and organizations representing American citizens nationwide, we write to you with a very specific request: to rescind, by executive…
The Daily Signal
Plastic Straw Ban Crusades Are About Progressive Virtue Signaling, Not Practical Solutions
The Daily Signal cited CEI’s Senior Fellow Angela Logomasini on plastic straw ban. Angela Logomasini, a researcher at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a…
Reason
Declines In Adolescent Smoking Accelerated As Vaping Rose, Suggesting The FDA’s Campaign Is Fatally Misguided
Reason cited CEI’s Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on FDA anti-vaping ads. In the midst of a federal campaign against underage vaping, a new…
Reason
Stossel: Let Them Vape
Reason cited CEI’s Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on e-cigarettes. Our government says e-cigarettes and vaping are the latest “epidemic” among teens. So the…
Blog
Reason’s John Stossel Interviews Michelle Minton on the E-Cigarette Scare
The FDA recently announced new regulations restricting the sale of e-cigarettes, supposedly to protect young people from harms associated with nicotine. However, as CEI Senior…
The Hill
A Solution to Stop Our Veterans from Dying While Waiting for Medical Care
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs has a simple but crucial mission. The agency’s website quotes President Lincoln’s promise to veterans to describe it:“To care…
News Release
New FDA Rules on E-Cigarettes Will Limit Adult Smokers’ Access to Safer Alternatives
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced new regulations restricting the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. The new rules would restrict sales at convenience stores…
Reason
The FDA’s Plan To Ban Flavored E-Cigarettes From Most Stores Is Unfair And Dangerous
Reason cited CEI’s Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on the FDA’s ban of flavored e-cigarettes. In an effort to curtail underage vaping, the Food…
One News Page
FDA To Restrict E-Cigarette Flavors
One News Page cited CEI’s Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on FDA restriction of flavored e-cigarettes. Competitive Enterprise Institute consumer policy expert Michele Minton:…
Blog
Senate Should Move Forward with Confirmation Votes on Buerkle, Others
With the 2018 election behind us, it’s time to look for opportunities to advance freedom and economic well-being. I don't expect much to happen congressionally given…
News Release
FDA Ban on Flavored E-Cigarette Sales Will Put Lives at Risk
The FDA is expected to impose imminent new restrictions on the sale of e-cigarettes by convenience stores, gas stations, and online, according to news reports.
Blog
Greens Want to Hide the Truth about Chlorpyrifos
Environmental crusades to ban pesticides often exaggerate chemical risks with little, if any, consideration of how bans undermine food production. And there is a reason…
American Action Forum
The Community Reinvestment Act: A Primer
American Action Forum cited CEI’s Michelle Minton’s “The Community Reinvestment Act’s Harmful Legacy” report. In assessing the CRA, it is useful to look…
American Council On Science And Health
IARC Retraction Watch Begins: They Faked Images In Controversial Claims
American Council On Science And Health cited CEI’s Senior Fellow Angela Logomasini on IARC weedkiller claims. Schneider is not…
News Release
CEI Expert Says EU Proposal to Ban Single-Use Consumer Plastic Items “Won’t Help the Environment”
On Wednesday, the European Union put forward a proposal to ban ten single-use plastic items, including straws and cotton swabs, by 2021. The proposal is…
Legal Sports Report
What We Learned About Sports Betting In Congress: Questions And Answers
Legal Sports Report cited CEI’s Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on sports gambling. Minton’s testimony advocates for state regulation of sports betting, noting that…
The Washington Times
Judge Tentative Ruling on Roundup is Good News for Farmers, Consumers
It’s good news for consumers that a superior court judge may put the brakes on a case alleging that the popular killer Roundup causes cancer.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
How Much Will Sports Leagues Make From Legal Betting?
West Virginia Public Broadcasting cited CEI’s Senior Fellow Michelle Minton on sports gambling. With more viewers, the leagues will be able to charge…
Blog
Is Particulate Matter Air Pollution as Dangerous as Cancer?
Yesterday the Competitive Enterprise Institute published Steve Milloy’s new policy brief on the impact of revised federal rules for auto mileage and emissions, “Will the Trump…
Blog
Unfounded Accusations Regarding Bees and Glyphosate
Recent accusations that a popular weed killer harms honeybees have become headline news in a wide range of sources including CBS News, The…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Urging Science Based Solutions in WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
The undersigned groups, representing millions of taxpayers and consumers across the country, urge the U.S. delegation attending the taxpayer-funded meeting of the World Health Organization’s…
Washington Examiner
Competitive Enterprise Institute Aims To Debunk Kigali Climate Deal
Washington Examiner cited CEI’s Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman on Kigali Ammendment. The free-market Competitive Enterprise Institute launched a counter-strike Tuesday morning against business…
Environment Guru
CEI Report Debunks Myths Advanced By Special Interest Supporters Of Kigali Amendment
Environment Guru cited CEI’s Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman on Kigali Amendment. Special interests supporting the Kigali Amendment, which would ban refrigerants widely-used by…
News Release
CEI Report Debunks Myths Advanced by Special Interest Supporters of Kigali Amendment
Special interests supporting the Kigali Amendment, which would ban refrigerants widely used by consumers with air conditioning and businesses that rely on air conditioning and…
Study
The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol: Myth vs. Fact
Beginning in the 1970s, concerns that the refrigerants used in most air conditioners and refrigerators were leaking into the air and depleting the Earth’s ozone…
Blog
Health and Human Services Secretary Should Halt Grants to UN Cancer Agency
Yesterday, Congress passed an appropriations bill that kept funding intact for the United Nations body known as the International Agency for Research on Cancer…
News Release
Report: Congress Should Stop Funding International Junk Science Agency
American taxpayers fund an international agency that puts out junk science, scaring consumers and leading to costly jury decisions and unnecessary product bans, a new…
Study
U.S. Should Stop Funding the International Agency for Research on Cancer
Numerous scientific bodies around the world, both public and private, attempt to assess the cancer-causing potential of various industrial chemicals. Ideally, those research programs should…
Blog
New York State’s Proposed Plastic Bag Ban: Assaulting an American Dream
I recently wrote a blog post about entrepreneur Eli Amsel, who reached out to me about how nanny state regulators and lawmakers have waged war…
Blog
No, One or Two Alcoholic Drinks a Day Is Not Unsafe or Unhealthy
Here we go again. A new round of news headlines implies any level of alcohol consumption is bad for you, based on the findings…
Blog
One Year Later, Federal Plan on Tobacco Harm Reduction Needs Improvement
The Food and Drug Administration has failed to approve a single reduced-harm nicotine product in the past year, despite unveiling a new “roadmap” in…
Blog
Senate Should Pass on Joan Claybrook’s Advice and Pass AV START Act
Why are self-styled safety advocates opposing the first legislative step that could help usher in the greatest automotive safety improvements in history? This is a…
Blog
Weed Killer Hype Lacks Scientific Support
The latest Environmental Working Group (EWG) “study” sounds an alarm regarding the chemical known as glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in the…
Blog
Science Reporters Get it Wrong: Moderate Alcohol Consumption Isn’t Dangerous
Joel Achenbach, a science and politics reporter, once asked why “many reasonable people doubt science.” He should look at his own reporting on alcohol…
Blog
The Roundup on Monsanto’s Roundup: Six Facts You Should Know
Yesterday, I addressed why last week’s court order calling for a ban on the pesticide chlorpyrifos was both dangerous and wrongheaded. Today, we look…
Blog
Six Things You Should Know about the Pesticide Chlorpyrifos
Last week was a bad one for farmers. Two legal decisions were released that promise to undermine access to valuable agrochemicals that farmers need to…
Law.com
Critical Mass: Roundup Trial Goes to Jury | New Expert Standard in New Jersey | 7th Circuit Fee Focus
Law.com cited CCAF and Senior Attorney Melissa Holyoak on 7th circuit decisions regarding the Roundup trial. Since Richard Posner abruptly retired last year, the U.S. Court of…
Blog
Debunking the (Plastic) Straw Man Arguments
Of all the consumer products one might have expected to become a flashpoint for political controversy, the humble plastic drinking straw is an unlikely contender.
Morning Consult
Washington’s War on Air Conditioning
Washington, D.C., is a heavily air-conditioned city. Summers here are hot and very humid, and each workday, an army of politicians and bureaucrats makes the…
The Hill
Top Conservative Groups Urge Trump to Reject Climate Change Agreement
The Hill cited CEI’s Myron Ebell on the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. In a letter sent Monday to President Trump, the…
News Channel 8
Plastic Straw Ban: Will this Decision Help Our Environment?
News Channel 8 cited CEI’s Angela Logomasini on the plastic straw ban. This week we’ve reported on the new decision companies like Starbucks…
Inside Sources
Is Your Weed Killer Killing You?
You might think that the popular weed killer known as Roundup is causing cancers around the world thanks to alarming news coverage of pending lawsuits.
Blog
Driving Innovation: Timbro Index Charts Scope of Global Sharing Economy
The Swedish think tank Timbro has published the first global index of the sharing economy. The Timbro Sharing Economy Index (TSEI) is the…
Creators Syndicate Online
Banning Straws
John Stossel for Creators Syndicate Online cited Senior Fellow Angela Logomasini on the plastic straw ban. Banning straws “might make some politicians feel good,”…
Reason
Plastic Straw Myths
Reason’s John Stossel cited Angela Logomasini on banning plastic straws. Angela Logomasini, a senior fellow at Competitive Enterprise Institute, told Tate that “the…
The Washington Times
Plastic Straw Bans Won’t Save Oceans: ‘We’re Trading a Lot for Nothing’
The Washington Times cited CEI’s Angela Logomasini on Starbucks’ recent plastic straw ban. “It’s a symbolic effort that isn’t going to help anything,”…
Blog
For Sake of Public Health, FDA Should Not Ban E-cigarette Flavors
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gotlieb, a medical doctor and cancer survivor, has had a long-term interest in tackling tobacco-related diseases. But unfortunately…
Blog
5 Facts about Vapes that Media and Activists Don’t Want You to Know
The news media and activists like to hype e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco products as a health hazard, but the reality is that e-cigarettes could help…
Comment
CEI Comments on the Regulation of Flavors in Tobacco Products
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) welcomes the opportunity to offer comments regarding the regulation of flavors in tobacco products.
Blog
Five Reasons Banning Plastics May Harm the Environment and Consumers
Consumers beware: In response to plastic waste collecting in the oceans, states, businesses, and even the European Union have proposed absurd bans on the use…
The Wall Street Journal
The Dishwasher Rebellion
The Wall Street Journal cited CEI’s on the dishwasher rebellion. The digital revolution relentlessly enables consumer products to become better, faster and cheaper.
Automotive News
Can Regulators Keep up with the Pace of Self-Driving Tech?
Automotive News cited Marc Scribner on self-driving vehicles, standards, safety technologies and regulations. “This goes well beyond the types of technology NHTSA has…
Blog
Last Chance for the 115th: Common-Sense Guidance on Regulating Flame Retardants
In “Free to Prosper: A Pro-Growth Agenda for the 115th Congress,” CEI recommended that Congress hold oversight hearings regarding the Consumer Product Safety Commission…
Blog
Last Chance for the 115th: Protect Lifesaving Vaping Products
Congress must act before anti-tobacco zealots in and outside of government eliminate life-saving vaping products. Anything that makes e-cigarettes less attractive to smokers will result in…
Comment
CEI Comments to FDA on Modified Risk Tobacco Product Applications
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) welcomes the opportunity to offer comments regarding modified risk tobacco product applications (MRTP), particularly in the case of the MRTP…
Letters
CEI Leads Coalition Urging Support for the STATES Act
We believe the STATES Act appropriately addresses the conflict between state and federal marijuana laws without asking Congress to take a stance on whether marijuana…
The Washington Examiner
Trump Keeps His Promise, Dying Patients Get a Second Chance At Life
The Washington Examiner cited the Competitive Enterprise Institute on the direct toll to human life that regulations impose as a result of ever-increasing FDA clinical…
Blog
Prop E Win in San Francisco Would Be Loss for Public Health
“Big Tobacco” is pouring millions into a campaign to maintain their ability to keep selling harmful products that target children. At least, that’s the narrative…
Blog
Will Coffee Give You Cancer (in California)?
Our friends over at Reason TV have a new video asking the attention-grabbing headline “Will coffee give you cancer?” As it turns out, no (unless…
Science 2.0
EPA IRIS Program Is Hardly The “Gold Standard”
Don’t be fooled by those who say the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) sets the…
Blog
Supreme Court Ends Sports Betting Prohibition—Now What?
It’s hard to believe it was just last Monday the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal law that, for 25 years, prevented the states…
Blog
Tell the Energy Department What You Think about Your Dishwasher
Thirty-five years ago, dishwashers cleaned dishes in about an hour. Sadly today, due to federal regulations, there are no dishwashers that do so. This isn’t progress—it’s…
The Daily Mail
The Race Is On for Slice of Lucrative US Gambling Pie
The Daily Mail cited Michelle Minton on the conditions which observers ought expect will rise across different states concerning the management and taxation of online…