A ruling by the Supreme Court that the Food and Drug Administration cannot regulate tobacco as an addictive drug has left some local health experts unhappy and disappointed.

But ISU health officials and one local tobacco retailer say they will continue to try to keep tobacco out of the hands of minors and raise awareness about the dangers of nicotine.

Linda Ciccone, ISU Substance Abuse Program coordinator, said she didn’t understand why the court ruled last month that the FDA does not have jurisdiction over tobacco.

“I think it’s a very poor decision,” she said. “Nicotine is obviously a drug. There has been medical data that shows it’s the most addictive drug out there, and it kills more than any other drug every year.”

Randy Mayer, program coordinator for evaluation and research at the Student Health Center, said he was disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision.

“We would like the FDA to have jurisdiction over nicotine because it is an addictive drug,” he said.

The court’s decision voids regulations the FDA made on cigarettes and other types of tobacco in 1996, saying Congress never had the right to give the FDA that authority.

“Under the FDA regulations, there was a law that retailers were required to check the ID of anyone under age 27 trying to buy tobacco,” Mayer said.

After the Supreme Court’s ruling, that law and others like it imposed by the FDA no longer exist.

Although the FDA can no longer regulate tobacco products, Mayer said the Student Health Center’s Prevention, Outreach and Education service will remain undeterred in its efforts to educate people about the dangers of nicotine.

“I don’t think it will hamper us too much,” he said. “Some other group — Congress or some other entity — will eventually take the place of the FDA to make people see that nicotine is dangerous.”

Mayer also said he has been talking with the Ames City Council, the Ames Police Department and the Story County Sheriff’s Office.

“They have said that they will continue to do checks at stores to make sure they are complying with tobacco laws,” he said.

The law preventing people under 18 years of age from buying tobacco is still in effect under the Synar Amendment, a federal law passed in 1992, Mayer said.

It allows the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to provide financing for nicotine-prevention programs. Each state receives SAMHSA money to finance its nicotine programs, with the amount being based on its level of compliance to tobacco laws.

“The states will still be required to do random checks of stores to be sure they’re complying with the law, but they just won’t be getting any funding from the FDA,” Mayer said.

Tom Wierson, operations manager of Gary Thompson Oil Company and Swift Stop, 414 South Duff Ave., said he will continue to try to make sure minors do not purchase tobacco products at his store.

“In my view, [the ruling] doesn’t change the responsibilities the retailers have,” he said. “It’s not going to change our efforts. We’re still going to train our employees and require them to check IDs.”

Wierson said his store will try to keep cigarettes and smokeless tobacco away from minors with or without FDA regulations.

“We’re not going to let up just because someone might not knock at our door to see if we’re complying,” he said.