 President Barack Obama, who has spoken of his own struggle to quit
smoking, said he was eager to sign the legislation, and the House
planned a vote for Friday. Cigarette foes said the measure would not
only cut deaths but reduce the $100 billion in annual health care
costs linked to tobacco.Fierce opposition by the industry and
tobacco-state lawmakers had prevented passage for years, along with
veto threats by the George W. Bush White House. In the end, the
nation's biggest tobacco company supported the measure, though
rivals suggested that was because it could lock in Philip Morris'
share of the market.
Cigarette smoking kills about 400,000 people in the United States
every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. About 45 million U.S. adults are smokers, though the
prevalence has fallen since the U.S. surgeon general's warning 45
years ago that tobacco causes lung cancer.
The legislation, one of the most dramatic anti-smoking
initiatives since the surgeon general's report, would give the Food
and Drug Administration authority to regulate the content, marketing
and advertising of cigarettes and other tobacco products.
"This legislation represents the strongest action Congress has
ever taken to reduce tobacco use, the leading preventable cause of
death in the United States," declared Matthew Myers, president of
Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids.
The 79-17 Senate vote sent the measure back to the House, which
in April passed a similar but not identical version. House
acceptance of the Senate bill would send it directly to Obama, who
said Thursday that final passage "will make history by giving the
scientists and medical experts at the FDA the power to take sensible
steps."
"At any given moment, millions are struggling with their habit or
worrying about loved ones who smoke," said Obama.
His signature would then add tobacco to other huge, nationally
important areas that have come under greater government supervision
since his presidency began. Those include banking, housing and
autos. Still to come, if Congress can agree: health care.
Supporters of FDA regulation of tobacco have struggled for more
than a decade to overcome powerful resistance -- from the industry
and elsewhere. In 2000 the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the agency
did not have the authority under current law to regulate tobacco
products, and the Bush administration opposed several previous
efforts by Congress to write a new law.
Thursday's legislation gives the FDA power to evaluate the
contents of tobacco products and to order changes or bans on those
that are a danger to public health. The agency could limit nicotine
yields but not ban nicotine or cigarettes.
Regulators could prohibit tobacco companies from using candy or
other flavors in cigarettes that tend to attract young smokers, and
restrict advertising in publications often read by teenagers. Rules
on sales to minors would be toughened, as would warning labels.
Tobacco companies would have to get FDA approval for new products
and would be barred from using terms such as "light" or "mild" that
imply a smaller health risk.
Costs of the new program would be paid for through a fee imposed
on tobacco companies.
"This is a bill that will protect children and will protect
America," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a leading supporter. "Every
day that we don't act, 3,500 American kids -- children -- will light
up for the first time. That is enough to fill 70 school buses."
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The Congressional Budget Office estimated that FDA regulation could
reduce underage smoking by 11 percent over the next decade.
The bill, said American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown,
"provides a tremendous opportunity to finally hold tobacco companies
accountable and restrict efforts to addict more children and
adults."
The tobacco lobby, contended Durbin, has long been the most
powerful lobby on Capitol Hill, "and they managed to create an
exemption in virtually every law so that no federal agency could
take a look at them and regulate them."
But the industry has also taken hits in recent years as the
dangers of smoking became more apparent and states moved to limit
smoking in public places. In 1998 the industry agreed to pay the
states $206 billion to help cover health care costs, and this year
Congress raised the federal cigarette tax by 62 cents, to $1.01 a
pack, to fund a health care program for children.
The nation's largest tobacco manufacturer, Philip Morris, USA,
has come out in support of the legislation. Its parent company,
Altria Group, said in a statement that on balance, "the legislation
is an important step forward to achieve the goal we share with
others to provide federal regulation of tobacco products."
Its main rivals, however, have voiced opposition, arguing in part
that FDA restrictions on new products will lock in Philip Morris'
share of the market.
Lawmakers portrayed the bill as a major first step in bringing
down health care costs, an essential goal of the health care
overhaul legislation that is the top priority of the Obama
administration this year.
"This bill may do more in the area of prevention, if adopted,
than anything else we may include in the health care bill in the
short term," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who managed the
legislation on the Senate floor in the absence of the ailing Sen.
Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who has long promoted FDA regulation.
Opponents, led by Republican Sen. Richard Burr of the
tobacco-growing state of North Carolina, argued that the FDA, which
is in charge of ensuring the safety of food and drug products, was
the wrong place to regulate an item that is injurious to health.
He also contended that the bill would restrict tobacco companies,
including several based in his state, from developing new products
that might be less harmful to users. He unsuccessfully proposed the
creation of a new agency that would both regulate tobacco products
and encourage efforts to make cigarettes less harmful.
The bill is
H.R. 1256.
___
On the Net:
Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov/
[Associated Press;
By JIM ABRAMS]
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed. |
