CWNews
Obama Signs Smoking Legislation
Bill to toughen tobacco rules sent to Obama; President says he will sign legislation
Anonymous. Boston Globe. Boston, Mass.: Jun 13, 2009. pg. A.2
Abstract (Summary)
"Along with legislation to protect credit-card owners from unfair rate hikes, homeowners from mortgage fraud and abuse, and taxpayers from wasteful defense spending, this kids' tobacco bill would be the fourth piece of bipartisan legislation that I've signed into law, over the last month, that protects the American consumer and changes the way Washington works and who Washington works for," the president said.
WASHINGTON - Congress gave final approval yesterday to a bill that will give the federal government sweeping new powers to regulate tobacco, a historic action that President Obama said "truly defines change in Washington."
Obama portrayed the bill as the latest legislation during his young presidency that shows he is bringing the change he promised voters.
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The House had passed a nearly identical version of the bill in April, and yesterday voted 307 to 97 to accept the version that the Senate approved on Thursday.
Minutes later, Obama congratulated lawmakers in brief remarks in the White House Rose Garden and said he looks forward to signing the bill into law.
"We've known for years, even decades, about the harmful, addictive, and often deadly effects of tobacco products," said Obama, who is still struggling to quit smoking himself, his spokesman said yesterday.
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He said leaders of both parties have fought for the bill's provisions for more than a decade, battling stiff opposition from the tobacco companies. Those leaders included Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Representative Henry Waxman of California, a key sponsor of the House version of the bill.
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The legislation gives the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate the advertising, marketing, and manufacturing of tobacco products. It comes 50 years after the surgeon general first warned about the health effects of tobacco.
Tobacco is used by one in five Americans, yet it is one of the least-regulated consumer products. Pet food and cosmetics are more heavily controlled by the government.
For smokers, the law will mean confronting graphic warnings of the risks of their habit every time they pick up a pack, and possible changes to the formulations of cigarettes and cigars. The law bans most cigarette flavorings and orders the FDA to study the issue of whether menthol should also be banned, on the theory that the flavorings mask the harsh taste of tobacco and make it easier for first-time smokers to get hooked.
For the $89 billion tobacco industry, it will mean new requirements to disclose the ingredients in cigarettes and other tobacco products, as well as severe limitations on how they are advertised and promoted. The government could also issue new rules on nicotine content, flavorings, and other product features. The industry will also pay for the new program through a new user fee. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that assessments could rise from $235 million in 2010 to $712 million in 2019.
The legislation stops short of allowing the FDA to prohibit tobacco or to eliminate nicotine, the addictive drug in tobacco, entirely. But aggressive FDA efforts to reduce nicotine content could "stimulate as dramatic a change in the product as anything we've seen in the last 50 years," said Adam Goldstein, director of the University of North Carolina Tobacco Prevention and Evaluation Program.
He said it was not inconceivable that adult smokers, now more than 20 percent of the population, could be reduced to less than 5 percent in 20 years. The FDA tried to exert authority over tobacco products in the 1990s, but the industry fought back and the Supreme Court in 2000 ruled, in a 5-4 decision, that the agency did not have such regulatory powers under then- existing law.
