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.
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NOTUS
EPA Eases Limits on ‘Super Pollutants,’ Claiming It Will Lower Food Prices
The Trump administration is loosening restrictions on “super pollutant” chemicals that are highly potent greenhouse gases, claiming that allowing their increased use will drive down…
Blog
Quartz tariffs are looming and your kitchen could pay the price
Earlier this week, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that increased quartz imports are injuring the domestic quartz industry. The petitioners, the Quartz…
Blog
Illiberalism: The bipartisan tradition
After experiencing the horrors of World War I and fearing a second World War could be imminent, Ludwig von Mises wrote Liberalism: The Classical…
Search Posts
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…
NPR
Sports Betting Ruling Could Have Consequences, Especially For College Athletes
National Public Radio cited Michelle Minton on the consequence of betting on college sports where student players are not paid. The amateur athletes are…
SFGate
Trump, Top Car Executives Meet Amid Struggle Over Climate Rules for Automobiles
SFGate cited Myron Ebell on the need for diversification in motor vechicle standards in order to suit the diverse needs of Americans living across the…
Blog
Supreme Court Sports Betting Decision Big Win for Consumers, Federalism
Today’s Supreme Court opinion in Murphy v. NCAA (formerly Christie v. NCAA) is a big win for consumers, states, and the constitutional principle…
News Release
Supreme Court Ruling in New Jersey Sports Gambling Case: A Win for States, Consumers, and Rule of Law
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of New Jersey’s right to set its own laws on whether to allow sports gambling – a…
The Hill
High Stakes in Supreme Court Sports Betting Case
In just a few days, the Supreme Court is expected to announce a decision on Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Blog
Senseless Menu Labeling Rules Go into Effect in May
Within days, chain restaurants and grocery stores nationwide will have to comply with a high-cost, low-value Obamacare menu labeling mandate. Failure to comply with the…
Blog
Multi-State Petition against EPA Vehicle Standards Makes Weak Legal Case
California joined by 16 states and the District of Columbia yesterday petitioned the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to stop Environmental Protection Agency administrator…
Blog
Systematic Failures of Chemical Safety Research at Environmental Protection Agency
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” could be the motto of one of the key research programs at the U.S. Environmental Protection…
Blog
Chef Geoff Tracy Fights Virginia’s Happy Hour Ad Ban
Local D.C.-area chef Geoff Tracy is a bacon lover, popular food Instagrammer, and a budding legal activist. This week, aided by his attorneys at the…
Blog
Cracking Down on Automated Vehicles Would Mean More Death and Destruction
Real-life road testing is the best way to continue improving the performance of automated driving systems, thanks in part to the gathering of real-time road…
Blog
Will Government Allow Gene Editing for Cancer Treatment?
The idea of genome editing is no longer a theoretical concept studied only within the confines of labs and scientific research institutions. In August 2017, scientists…
Blog
Liberate Dishwashers from Federal Efficiency Mandates
Thirty-five years ago dishwashers cleaned dishes in about an hour. Sadly, today there are no dishwashers that do so due to federal government regulations. This…
Blog
3 Proposals to Temper the Federal Payday Loan Rule
When the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule regulating payday loans in October last year, I wrote that this could be the end…
Blog
How States Can Win Big from Legal Sports Betting
Every March, millions of Americans join friends, relatives, and coworkers in “March Madness” betting pools, centered on the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Men’s Basketball…
News Release
Report: States Should Bet on Sports Gambling Laws that Work
Despite the popularity of March Madness brackets, all sports betting remains illegal in the United States. States that hope to legalize sports betting should start…
Study
Legalizing Sports Betting in the United States
Every March, millions of Americans join friends, relatives, and coworkers in “March Madness” betting pools, centered on the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Men’s Basketball…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Urging Congress to Rein in FDA Overreach as Part of FY18 Spending Bill
Without modernization of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the Deeming Rule will kill tens of thousands of jobs and put many Americans'…
NewsBusters
Is Using Pesticides an Act of Chemical Warfare?
A substance that “belongs to a class of chemicals developed as a nerve gas made by Nazi Germany is now found in food, air…
The Washington Free Beacon
Partisan Fights Over Science Funding Likely to Reemerge on Capitol Hill
The Washington Free Beacon discusses the International Agency for Research on Cancer with Angela Logomasini. A long-simmering partisan feud over the role of science…
News Release
CEI Praises House Plan to Fix Obamacare Menu Labeling Mandate
House Republicans are expected to vote tomorrow, February 6, on a bipartisan bill to scale back the most onerous provisions of the Obamacare menu labeling…
InsideSources
In the Sports-Subsidy Game, Taxpayers Always Lose
Few events unite our diverse country and bring people together like sports. No matter where we are from, which team we root for, or even…
Blog
States: Protect Taxpayers and Reject Sports Gambling Rent-Seekers
For the last 25 years, the states have lost out on millions in tax revenue they could have collected from sports betting, thanks to a…
Blog
California’s Cancerous Coffee Nonsense
If you have ever visited California, you have probably encountered the warning labels that appear on everything from seaweed to soft drinks, informing you…
Time
Inside Scott Pruitt’s Mission to Remake the EPA
Time Magazine quotes Myron Ebell on Scott Pruitt’s opportunity to battle overregulation within the EPA. Bonnie Wirtz was tending to her Minnesota farm one…
Blog
Burger King Video Inadvertently Highlights Absurdity of Net Neutrality Claims
A new corporate video from Burger King ostensibly supports net neutrality regulations, but actually demonstrates exactly why such rules are unnecessary.
NBC News
Cigarette Company Philip Morris Tries to Sell Idea of ‘Safer’ Tobacco
NBC News covers smoking alternatives. When Philip Morris International took out an ad campaign in Britain claiming it wanted to “give up” smoking, American…
The American Spectator
Pennsylvania’s Entry Into Online Gaming May Kill Federal Ban Effort
The American Spectator covers Pennsylvania’s online gambling law and how it could affect the federal ban effort. The impending implementation of Pennsylvania online gaming…
Blog
7 Reasons to Oppose the Federal Payday Loan Rule
Congress should use the Congressional Review Act to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's small dollar loan rule.
Blog
Did the Food Pyramid Make Us Fat?
If the government is going to spend our tax money on lecturing us on what we’re supposed to be eating, we can ask that their…