Posted on 03/17/2005 7:28:15 PM PST by SheLion
WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration could regulate tobacco products under legislation revived by a bipartisan group of lawmakers Thursday. The proposal renews a push for tobacco oversight that was blocked last year in the House.
Under the bill, the FDA could regulate the sale, marketing and advertising of tobacco products, and could require companies to list all ingredients added to cigarettes and other forms of consumer tobacco.
The legislation was brought back in the Senate by last year's sponsors, Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who reintroduced the bill on Thursday. The Senate approved it last year, but it died in the House.
"The detrimental effects of smoking are widely known," said DeWine. "But many consumers, including smokers, are surprised to learn that no federal agency has the authority to require tobacco companies to list the ingredients that are in their products."
The legislation would prevent the FDA from banning cigarettes; the agency also could reduce but not eliminate nicotine. The FDA would not regulate tobacco as a drug, but would create a new product category.
Last year's House sponsors, Reps. Tom Davis, R-Va., and Henry Waxman, D-Calif., were expected to introduce a similar bill.
In 2004, supporters tried to tie FDA regulation of tobacco leaf to a tobacco-buyout program within a corporate tax bill. The final tax bill included tobacco buyout provisions, but no FDA regulation, and many believed supporters had lost their best shot at oversight.
Strong resistance to the proposal has come "solely from the House leadership and a very small number of tobacco-state legislators," said Matt Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
The FDA asserted authority over cigarettes in 1996, but the Supreme Court later ruled that only Congress can give the FDA that power.
Philip Morris USA is the only leading tobacco company in favor of FDA regulation. The company says such oversight will give the public more confidence in the industry and help the company market new tobacco products.
Other companies oppose regulation because they say it would affect their ability to compete for new customers.
---
On the Net:
U.S. Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov/
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org
No matter what they say, the FDA said quite awhile ago that if they ever had to regulate tobacco, they would have to ban it, because they could never deem it safe.
They''ll never do it...think of the tax revenue they'll lose!!
I find the legislation more agreeable than the power grab Kessler tried to make in 1993 for the FDA to regulate tobacco.
They''ll never do it...think of the tax revenue they'll lose!!
=====
Of course. This is just BS politics at its best. These losers are just trying to win some brownie points --- and they will absolutely not come up with anything with TEETH IN IT. These tax-drunk politicos will NEVER KILL THE GOOSE THAT LAYS THE GOLDEN EGGS....NEVER!!!!
Mike DeWine. What a creep. Maybe he could sponsor a bill for the FDA to regulate fat people. There are plenty of those in his district.
Of course they favor it - they are just looking for more "approval" for maintaining and growing their market share. They desire a government sanctioned monompoly.
Anything that PM is in favor of will be detrimental to consumers.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.