U.S. Panel Approves Regulation of Tobacco

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was passed by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The bill will allow the FDA to have higher authority over tobacco:

• Will restrict tobacco marketing to young people
• Add larger warning labels to cigarette packages
• Require FDA to police ingredients and introduction of new products

All Democrats and six Republicans voted in favor of the bill. Altria Group Inc., The American Lung Association, and President Obama, who stopped smoking last year, fully support the bill. 

But the majority of Republicans do not. They argue that the FDA will be spread too thin, and that their regulation will lead consumers to believe that tobacco is safe. 

The U.S. spent over $80 billion in 2008 on tobacco products. This could explain why one in five people in the U.S. die from tobacco related illnesses.

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