Lawmakers want tobacco put under FDA control
House passes proposal allowing agency to reject new products, restrict advertising and limit nicotine levels, but some senators threaten filibuster.
By Rebecca Cole
1:44 PM PDT, April 2, 2009
Reporting from Washington ? The House today voted to give the Food and Drug Administration unprecedented powers to regulate the tobacco industry, after years of crusading by anti-smoking groups for the government to exert more control.
The measure would allow the FDA to reject new tobacco products, restrict advertising and take other steps. It passed easily, 298 to 112, but may face a filibuster in the Senate.
"This is truly a historic day in the fight against tobacco, and I am proud that we have taken such decisive action," said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, in a statement.
Since 2000, when the Supreme Court ruled that the FDA did not have the authority to regulate tobacco products, Waxman and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) have taken turns submitting legislation to bring those products under the agency's control. A similar bill Waxman introduced last year also passed the House, but it languished in a Senate subcommittee after then-President George W. Bush vowed to veto it.
Now, with the backing of President Obama -- whose own struggles to quit smoking are well documented -- the measure stands a better chance of becoming law, advocates said.
However, senators from some tobacco-growing states are already lining up to oppose it, with Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) threatening a filibuster.
If signed into law, the bill would give the FDA wide-ranging control over tobacco products, including the elimination of harmful additives and flavorings, regulation of nicotine levels and the ability to prohibit healthy-sounding terms like "light" and "mild" in product descriptions.
While the bill does not let the FDA ban tobacco products or nicotine outright, it was endorsed by the leaders of several major public health groups. They included the American Medical Assn., the American Lung Assn. and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
http://www.latimes. com/features/ health/la- na-tobacco3- 2009apr03, 0,5223437. story
House passes proposal allowing agency to reject new products, restrict advertising and limit nicotine levels, but some senators threaten filibuster.
By Rebecca Cole
1:44 PM PDT, April 2, 2009
Reporting from Washington ? The House today voted to give the Food and Drug Administration unprecedented powers to regulate the tobacco industry, after years of crusading by anti-smoking groups for the government to exert more control.
The measure would allow the FDA to reject new tobacco products, restrict advertising and take other steps. It passed easily, 298 to 112, but may face a filibuster in the Senate.
"This is truly a historic day in the fight against tobacco, and I am proud that we have taken such decisive action," said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, in a statement.
Since 2000, when the Supreme Court ruled that the FDA did not have the authority to regulate tobacco products, Waxman and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) have taken turns submitting legislation to bring those products under the agency's control. A similar bill Waxman introduced last year also passed the House, but it languished in a Senate subcommittee after then-President George W. Bush vowed to veto it.
Now, with the backing of President Obama -- whose own struggles to quit smoking are well documented -- the measure stands a better chance of becoming law, advocates said.
However, senators from some tobacco-growing states are already lining up to oppose it, with Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) threatening a filibuster.
If signed into law, the bill would give the FDA wide-ranging control over tobacco products, including the elimination of harmful additives and flavorings, regulation of nicotine levels and the ability to prohibit healthy-sounding terms like "light" and "mild" in product descriptions.
While the bill does not let the FDA ban tobacco products or nicotine outright, it was endorsed by the leaders of several major public health groups. They included the American Medical Assn., the American Lung Assn. and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
http://www.latimes. com/features/ health/la- na-tobacco3- 2009apr03, 0,5223437. story