Tobacco Regulation Bill Poised for Passage

All sides in the debate over whether tobacco products should be regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agree that the odds are good that Congress will soon pass an FDA regulation bill, the Washington Post reported May 11.

Despite a filibuster threat by a pair of North Carolina senators, the bill sponsored by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) is likely to be approved by a wide margin in the Senate before Memorial Day; the measure already has been approved in the House of Representatives.

Passage would cap a 15-year legislative battle over FDA regulation that has seen tobacco companies spend tens of millions of dollars fighting the measure and one — Philip Morris — switch sides and support federal regulation. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the measure into law if it reaches his desk.

The bill would give FDA the power to regulate the contents of cigarettes — including possibly reducing, but not eliminating, nicotine — and tobacco firms would be required to publicly disclose the contents of their products for the first time. Warning labels on cigarette packs would get bigger, covering half of product packaging, and the use of terms like “light” and “mild” would be banned unless companies can prove that products are less harmful than regular cigarettes.

“If this happens, and if the FDA uses its powers, it will be an enormous public-health achievement,” said Matthew L. Meyers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Industry fees of up to $500 million annually would pay for FDA regulation.

Some skeptics see Philip Morris’ support of the bill as a sign that the FDA bill won’t be as tough as it should be. “I haven’t known Philip Morris to do anything in the interest of public health,” said Richard Hurt of the Mayo Clinic.

“I think a lot of people want to get something on the books to begin the process of regulation,” said Hurt. “The tobacco companies are still wildly successful. They still have 43 million smokers, and they’re not going to give them up easily. Only time will tell whether this is a mistake or the beginning of reducing the tobacco toll in this country.”