Senate Passes Bill for FDA to Regulate Tobacco
WASHINGTON -- In a 79-17 vote yesterday, the Senate passed a bill giving the Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over the tobacco industry.
As reported in a CSNews Online newsflash yesterday, the vote sends the measure back to the House, which passed a similar version in April, the AP reported. If the House accepts the Senate version, then the bill would go directly to President Barack Obama, who supports the action. (Note: another industry media outlet reported the bill was on its way to the President already.)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the AP that "from what I have seen so far, I believe it will be possible for us to accept their bill and send it right on to the president."
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy, of Massachusetts, would give the FDA authority to restrict and change the sale, marketing and production of tobacco products to protect the public health. It could not ban nicotine outright, but would ban the use of terms on products such as "light" and "mild." The FDA could also restrict tobacco marketing; require pre-market approval of new tobacco products; ban flavored tobacco products; limit ads in publications with significant teen readership; and impose stronger warning labels on cigarette packages, The Associated Press reported.
A new FDA office would be created and financed through a user fee paid by tobacco companies, based on share of market, according to the report.
Lawmakers, with the support from anti-smoking groups, have been trying to pass similar legislation for a decade, but bills ran into resistance from the tobacco industry and the Bush administration, the Associated Press reported.
This year, however, the president supports it and it came with the support of the country's biggest tobacco company, Richmond, Va.-based Philip Morris USA.
In a statement regarding the passage, Philip Morris' parent company, Altria Group, said: "We think today’s vote by the U.S. Senate is an important step forward on this legislation. For more than eight years, Altria Group has supported tough but reasonable federal regulation of tobacco products by the Food and Drug Administration."
The company acknowledged the bill is not perfect, though, noting the firm's concerns over First Amendment reservations on certain provisions that could restrict a manufacturer’s ability to "communicate truthful information to adult consumers about tobacco products."
The second- and third-largest tobacco companies—R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Lorillard Tobacco Co.—opposed it, arguing restrictions on new tobacco products will lock in Philip Morris' share of the market.
"It is a lifesaving act for the millions of children who will be spared a lifetime of addiction and premature death," Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said in a statement cited by the AP.
Also before the vote, the Senate rejected in a 60-36 vote Tuesday an alternative bill to the FDA legislation, which would have created a department within the Health and Human Services agency to control tobacco products, and focus more on developing reduced harm products.
The alternative bill was offered by the two senators from North Carolina, Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Kay Hagan, both of North Carolina. The pair argues the FDA was the wrong agency for the job, and that giving it broad powers to decide what ingredients can go into cigarettes would hamper the development of safer tobacco products, the AP reported.
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FDA Regulation of Tobacco Expected to Pass Senate
Senate Tackles FDA Regulation of Tobacco
As reported in a CSNews Online newsflash yesterday, the vote sends the measure back to the House, which passed a similar version in April, the AP reported. If the House accepts the Senate version, then the bill would go directly to President Barack Obama, who supports the action. (Note: another industry media outlet reported the bill was on its way to the President already.)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the AP that "from what I have seen so far, I believe it will be possible for us to accept their bill and send it right on to the president."
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy, of Massachusetts, would give the FDA authority to restrict and change the sale, marketing and production of tobacco products to protect the public health. It could not ban nicotine outright, but would ban the use of terms on products such as "light" and "mild." The FDA could also restrict tobacco marketing; require pre-market approval of new tobacco products; ban flavored tobacco products; limit ads in publications with significant teen readership; and impose stronger warning labels on cigarette packages, The Associated Press reported.
A new FDA office would be created and financed through a user fee paid by tobacco companies, based on share of market, according to the report.
Lawmakers, with the support from anti-smoking groups, have been trying to pass similar legislation for a decade, but bills ran into resistance from the tobacco industry and the Bush administration, the Associated Press reported.
This year, however, the president supports it and it came with the support of the country's biggest tobacco company, Richmond, Va.-based Philip Morris USA.
In a statement regarding the passage, Philip Morris' parent company, Altria Group, said: "We think today’s vote by the U.S. Senate is an important step forward on this legislation. For more than eight years, Altria Group has supported tough but reasonable federal regulation of tobacco products by the Food and Drug Administration."
The company acknowledged the bill is not perfect, though, noting the firm's concerns over First Amendment reservations on certain provisions that could restrict a manufacturer’s ability to "communicate truthful information to adult consumers about tobacco products."
The second- and third-largest tobacco companies—R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Lorillard Tobacco Co.—opposed it, arguing restrictions on new tobacco products will lock in Philip Morris' share of the market.
"It is a lifesaving act for the millions of children who will be spared a lifetime of addiction and premature death," Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said in a statement cited by the AP.
Also before the vote, the Senate rejected in a 60-36 vote Tuesday an alternative bill to the FDA legislation, which would have created a department within the Health and Human Services agency to control tobacco products, and focus more on developing reduced harm products.
The alternative bill was offered by the two senators from North Carolina, Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Kay Hagan, both of North Carolina. The pair argues the FDA was the wrong agency for the job, and that giving it broad powers to decide what ingredients can go into cigarettes would hamper the development of safer tobacco products, the AP reported.
Related News:
FDA Regulation of Tobacco Expected to Pass Senate
Senate Tackles FDA Regulation of Tobacco