U.S. House of Representatives passes Senate version of FDA tobacco regulation bill..

June 12, 2009 - The House of Representatives, which first passed a similar FDA bill in April, voted 307-97 to endorse the version (that includes Merkley-Brown Amendment..) passed 79-17 by the Senate on Thursday, 6/11.

Congress on Friday sent to the White House legislation that gives the federal government vast new powers to regulate and restrict cigarettes, the single largest cause of preventable death. President Barack Obama hailed the moment, saying it "truly defines changes in Washington."

S. 982—The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act..

The measure, more than a decade in the making, for the first time gives the Food and Drug Administration authority to examine what goes into tobacco products, ban those ingredients deemed dangerous to health and limit marketing and sales. Fierce opposition by the industry and tobacco-state lawmakers had prevented passage for years, along with veto threats by the George W. Bush White House. In the end, the nation's biggest tobacco company supported the measure, though rivals suggested that was because it could lock in Philip Morris' share of the market.

The legislation, one of the most dramatic anti-smoking initiatives since the surgeon general's report, would give the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate the content, marketing and advertising of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Reference: House Passes Tobacco Bill, Headed To Obama
Landmark Bill Gives FDA Authority To Regular Cigarettes, CBS News, 6/12/2009.

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