Tobacco to fall under FDA control?


The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, to be voted on today by the Senate Health Committee, seems on the fast track to approval. If passed into law it will place the tobacco industry under the oversight of the Food and Drug Administration. The measure, supported by health groups and some of the industry, will give the agency some broad powers in regulating the contents and sales of tobacco products.

Industry heavyweight Altria Group's (NYSE: MO) Phillip Morris favors the bill, but others such as Reynolds American's (NYSE: RAI) R.J. Reynolds oppose it, claiming the regulations would limit its ability to compete with the market leader.

Among the agency's responsibilities will be vetting the ingredients of cigarettes, which will surely winnow out some of the reported 200 or more additives that have been used in American smokes. The bill also prohibits cigarettes from containing any artificial or natural flavor other than tobacco or menthol - sorry, you clove fans. The agency further has the right to ban advertising it deems injurious to the public health, which could mean a loss in print advertising and event sponsorships.

The bill is not without sops to the tobacco industry, however. In it, the FDA is not permitted to ban tobacco, require a zero nicotine level, set minimum age limits higher than 18, or call a halt to over-the-counter sales.

As anti-smoking legislation goes, this act is a half-measure, one that the industry is probably able to live with and far short of the draconian legislation it fears. One thing I can predict with confidence – the cost of cigarettes will be going up to pay for this new level of bureaucracy.

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