Source: CNN.com
Author: Evan Glass
Senate passes bill increasing FDA power over tobacco products:
WASHINGTON (CNN) — A bill that increases the power of the federal Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products cleared the Senate on Thursday.
The Senate voted 79-17 for the Family Smoking and Tobacco Control Act, which is similar to a bill already passed by the House of Representatives.
An aide to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said the chamber will vote Friday on accepting the Senate bill, which would send the measure to President Obama for his signature.
Most Senate opposition came from tobacco-producing states including Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. In a break from tradition, the two senators from Virginia — another tobacco state — supported the measure, indicating a moderate shift in the state’s politics.
The tobacco bill would allow the FDA to ban some tobacco products, limit the amount of nicotine in tobacco products and enlarge warning labels.
A White House statement quoted Obama as calling the measure historic for “giving the scientists and medical experts at the FDA the power to take sensible steps that will reduce tobacco’s harmful effects and prevent tobacco companies from marketing their products to children.”
The statement said Obama looks forward to signing the bill.
The American Cancer Society, in a statement released shortly after the vote, said, “Today is an historic day for public health.
“Tobacco is virtually the only consumable product not regulated in the U.S. and the tobacco industry exploits this undeserved free pass by spending nearly $40 million every day aggressively marketing its products, especially to children, with enticing candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes,” the statement read.
For detailed information on Senate votes, visit the site below:
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