March 5, 2009

House committee approves tobacco bill; Moves to full House

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act passed in a 39-13 vote today in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.  

The proposed bill, if passed in Congress, will regulate the $80 billion-a-year tobacco market and is supported by President Barack Obama.

A similar bill was passed through the House in July but did not clear the Senate due to lack of U.S. Food and Drug Administration resources and because there was not a ban on menthol-flavored cigarettes.

The bill will place stronger restrictions on marketing cigarettes on young people, add larger warnings to packaging and give the FDA authority to monitor ingredients and new products.

Smoking is a leading cause of death in the U.S. with one in five deaths attributed to the disease.

The bill passed the committee with full Democrat support and six Republicans joining the cause.  President Obama, a former smoker, supported last July’s bill.