April 3 2008 - A House panel has overwhelmingly voted in favor of a new tobacco regulation that will give More power to the Food and Drug Administration to govern Cigarettes.
April 3 2008 - A House panel has overwhelmingly voted in favor of a new tobacco regulation that will give More power to the Food and Drug Administration to govern Cigarettes.
The vote was passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee by a score of 38 to 12. The resulting legislation will allow for the FDA to govern the amount of nicotine levels that can be found in Cigarettes, change labeling on packaging to larger More health orientated warnings, and ban flavored Cigarettes.
“Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, and this legislation will help address this enormous public health problem,” said committee Chairman John D. Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, according to the Los Angeles Times.
About 1 in 5 deaths in the US are in some way related to smoking, a fact that the new rules will most definitely change over the years to come.
"It's hard to believe that the FDA regulates toothpaste but not Cigarettes," New Jersey Democrat Frank Pallone said in backing the bill. "This will force companies to substantiate claims" about the risks of Cigarettes, he said.
"It's a different day in Congress on tobacco," said Gregg Haifley, director of federal relations with the Cancer Action Network. "Finally public health is winning."