Times have changed now that even tobacco states have smoking bans. Today, after two weeks of wrangling and a decade of considering the change, the U.S. Senate endorsed increased regulation of tobacco.
Senators voted 79-17 to regulate tobacco in the same way the government regulates everything else you put in your body...
The House already passed its version of the bill in April, so it will go the president as soon as the chambers iron out the differences. Unlike former President Bush, who suggested he'd veto legislation to give the FDA authority over tobacco, President Obama has said he supports it.
The bill would give the federal government the power to regulate cigarette ingredients, to ban the marketing of "light cigarettes" and to require graphic warning labels. It's a huge move that's been a long time coming.
At Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, organization president Matthew L. Myers called the vote "a truly historic victory" and "the strongest action Congress has ever taken to reduce tobacco use. Forty-five years after the first U.S. Surgeon General's report linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer, the most deadly product sold in America will no longer be the least-regulated product sold in America," Myers said in a statement.
The bill would give the federal government the power to [for example] regulate cigarette ingredients, to ban the marketing of "light cigarettes" and to require graphic warning labels.
"The legislation passed today is not perfect," Altria [owner of Philip Morris] said in a statement. "For example, we have expressed First Amendment reservations about certain provisions, including those that could restrict a manufacturer's ability to communicate truthful information to adult consumers about tobacco products. We also believe that the resolution of certain issues would best be handled by rulemaking processes that involve sound scientific data and public participation. On balance, however, the legislation is an important step forward to achieve the goal we share with others to provide federal regulation of tobacco products."
Despite the popularity of this bill, senators from tobacco states used every bit of time they could to delay a vote. Many floor speeches this week have concentrated on votes senators took 20 years and more ago. They barely passed -- by one vote -- the ban on smoking on airplane flights.
this from: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Healt...7801654&page=1



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