In a historic move, the House of Representatives voted Thursday to give the Food and Drug Administration broad powers to regulate tobacco, the nation's No. 1 cause of preventable death.
Medical associations celebrated the 298-112 vote as a victory for public health, noting that tobacco kills more than 400,000 Americans a year.
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, sponsored by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Rep. Todd Platts, R-Pa., wouldn't ban tobacco but would let the FDA regulate it, even forcing companies to remove harmful ingredients.
The law would also ban tobacco marketing to children and flavored cigarettes, require companies to list ingredients, place larger warning labels on packages and prohibit companies from suggesting that "low-tar," "light" or "mild" cigarettes are safer.
The bill would be funded by user fees on tobacco companies.
Although Philip Morris USA supports the bill, its competitors, Lorillard and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, oppose it. Lorillard spokesman Michael Robinson said the bill would "lock in" Philip Morris' position as industry leader.
Although President Obama supports the bill, a Senate version is likely to face more opposition.
North Carolina's senators, Democrat Kay Hagan and Republican Richard Burr, are pushing a bill to put control under a new agency in the Department of Health and Human Services.
Burr said it would provide regulation "without diverting the FDA from its core mission" of ensuring safe foods and medicines. "If we want efficient and effective regulation, the FDA is not our best option, " he said.
*Smokers try to kick habit, 1A
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