A U.S. Senate committee plans to vote in September on whether to give the Food & Drug Administration control over tobacco marketing and production.
The Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will vote on a bill that Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) plans to introduce, Reuters reports. The bill would give the FDA control to regulate tobacco marketing (including labeling and distribution) and production. It also includes measures to keep kids from smoking and incentives to encourage smokers to quit, per Reuters. It would not prohibit tobacco sales or marketing.
Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives is considering legislation that would let the FDA oversee marketing of lower-risk tobacco products (Xtra, June 12). Philip Morris parent Altria supports FDA oversight. The issue has been in the hands of Congress since 2000, when the Supreme Court ruled that the FDA had overstepped its bounds by asserting control over tobacco marketing in 1996.
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