Senate, House Approve FDA Tobacco Bill

The U.S. Senate and House have voted in favor of a bill that would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate tobacco and imposes new restrictions on tobacco marketing and ingredients, the Washington Post reported June 11.

The 79-17 Senate vote and 307-97 vote in the House send the measure to President Obama, who said the bill was “a long time coming” and promised to sign it into law.

“Miracles still happen,” said lead legislative sponsor Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), who has brain cancer and has been absent from the capital during the debate on the tobacco bill. “The United States Senate has finally said ’no’ to Big Tobacco.”

Tobacco-state lawmakers in the Senate failed to muster up enough support for a promised filibuster to block the bill. Cigarette maker Philip Morris supported the measure but other tobacco companies opposed it.

Included in the bill are requirements for graphic warnings on cigarette packages and a ban on most tobacco flavorings, although not the most popular one, menthol. Tobacco firms would also be required to disclose the ingredients of their products, and the FDA would have the power to limit, but not eliminate, the amount of nicotine in cigarettes.