Senate OKs bill to police tobacco

WASHINGTON - The Senate took a step toward giving the governmentsome controls over the tobacco industry, bolstering the chances thata long-sought goal of anti-smoking advocates will finally berealized.

The 84-11 Senate vote on Tuesday to consider the bill came amonth after the House overwhelmingly passed a similar measure givingthe Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate cigarettesand other tobacco products.

Sixty votes were needed to advance the legislation, and thesuccess in reaching that threshold increases the likelihood that theSenate will move to a final vote by the end of the week. If theHouse concurs with the Senate measure, it would go to PresidentBarack Obama, who is ready to sign it into law.

The Senate vote came on a day when Obama was set to meet SenateDemocratic leaders on courses they may take to bring down therunaway costs of health care.

Supporters of the FDA legislation, such as the American HeartAssociation and the American Lung Association, say controls overtobacco products would be a good place to start: they say tobaccouse kills more than 400,000 Americans every year, resulting in $96billion in health care costs.

Under the measure, the FDA could restrict tobacco marketing,specifically to young people; order changes to the ingredients intobacco products; and require more prominent health warnings. Itwould ban remaining tobacco-brand sponsorships of sports andentertainment events and restrict vending machines to adult-onlyfacilities. It would bar the use of "reduced harm" descriptions suchas "light," "mild" or "low."

It would impose a fee on cigarette manufacturers to pay for FDAregulation.

The FDA would not have the authority to ban cigarettes and othertobacco products.

Anti-smoking lawmakers have been trying for years to give the FDAregulatory powers, only to be blocked by tobacco-state colleagues,opposition from the tobacco industry and, during the administrationof President George W. Bush, veto threats.

The need for congressional action became more pressing after a 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court in 2000 rejecting FDA's claim that ithad authority to regulate tobacco products under current law.

"It is now essential for Congress to act," Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said soon after that decision. "We cannot in good conscienceallow the federal agency most responsible for protecting the publichealth to remain powerless to deal with the enormous risks oftobacco." Kennedy is the chief sponsor of the Senate bill.

Marlboro maker Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest tobaccocompany, voiced support for the House-passed bill, saying itendorsed "tough but reasonable federal regulation."

But Philip Morris' main rivals have argued that the legislation,with its new restrictions on marketing and advertising, wouldessentially lock in Philip Morris' share of the market.

Opponents from tobacco-growing states have expressed concernsabout job losses in their states and contended that the FDA has apoor track record in guaranteeing food safety and shouldn't be givenresponsibility to oversee tobacco products. Among the amendmentsthat could be offered in the Senate are proposals to instead assigntobacco regulation to the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention.