Pres. Obama Signs Off On Historic, Bi-Partisan Anti-Smoking/ Tobacco Legislation

Politico----

Calling it “a victory for bi-partisanship” and “a victory for health care reform,” President Barack Obama signed the tobacco regulation measure into law this afternoon during a Rose Garden ceremony attended by anti-smoking groups and members of Congress.

Obama used the stage at the signing ceremony to argue that his administration’s governing philosophy of getting things done without the influence of special interests is working.

“When I ran for president, I did so because I believed that, despite the power of the status quo and the influence of special interests, it was possible for us to bring change to Washington,” Obama said. “And the progress we’ve made these past five months has only reinforced my faith in this belief.”

The president held up the tobacco bill, which has been stalled in Congress since 1994, as “a step that will save lives and dollars.” He pointed to it, as well as credit card reform, mortgage reform and defense procurement reform, as laws enacted against the wishes of powerful special interests.

“Today, change has come to Washington,” Obama said. “Our journey for change is far from over, but with the package — passage of the kids tobacco legislation that I'm about to sign, we're taking another big and very important step, a step that will save lives and dollars.”

The bill, called the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration unprecedented powers to regulate tobacco. Under the law, the FDA will be able to prohibit cigarette advertising, specifically those that target children, and ban flavored cigarettes and labels such as “low tar” and “light.”

Former President George W. Bush opposed the legislation.

Obama shared the stage Monday with Vice President Joe Biden, 10 members of Congress and four young people from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

Obama gave a special thank you to Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) He also praised “most importantly, Sen. Ted Kennedy, who can't be here today.”

Obama talked about his own — and many believe still ongoing — battle with smoking.

“Each day, 1,000 young people under the age of 18 become new regular, daily smokers, and almost 90 percent of all smokers began at or before their 18th birthday,” Obama said. “I know; I was one of these teenagers. And so I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it's been with you for a long time.”

Obama went on to blast tobacco companies for aggressively targeting young people in “a constant and insidious barrage of advertising where they live, where they learn, and where they play.”

Shortly after the bill signing, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs conceded that Obama’s addiction to cigarettes is “something he continues to struggle with.”


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Pres. Obama To Sign Sweeping Anti-Smoking Bill Today In Rose Garden

MSNBC----

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WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is set to sign into law an anti-smoking bill that will give the federal government unprecedented authority to regulate tobacco.

Obama is scheduled to sign the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act on Monday. The law allows the regulatory Food and Drug Administration to reduce nicotine in tobacco products, ban candy flavorings and block labels such "low tar" and "light." Tobacco companies also will be required to cover their cartons with large graphic warnings.

The law won't let the FDA ban nicotine or tobacco outright, but the agency will be able to regulate the contents of tobacco products, make public their ingredients and prohibit marketing campaigns, especially those geared toward children.

Anti-smoking advocates looked forward to the bill after years of attempts to tame an industry so fundamental to the U.S. that carved tobacco leaves adorn some parts of the Capitol.

Opponents from tobacco-growing states argued that the FDA has proven through a series of food safety failures that it's not up to the job. They also said that instead of unrealistically trying to get smokers to quit or to prevent others from starting, lawmakers should ensure that people have other options, like smokeless tobacco.

As president, George W. Bush opposed the legislation and threatened a veto after it passed the House last year. The Obama administration, by contrast, issued a statement declaring strong support for the measure.

Obama has spoken publicly of his own struggles to quit cigarettes.


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U.S. Senate Passes Sweeping Anti-Smoking Bill (79-17)....Pres. Obama Eager To Sign Into Law

Huffington Post-----

WASHINGTON — The Senate struck a historic blow against smoking in America Thursday, voting overwhelmingly to give regulators new power to limit nicotine in the cigarettes that kill nearly a half-million people a year, to drastically curtail ads that glorify tobacco and to ban flavored products aimed at spreading the habit to young people.

President Barack Obama, who has spoken of his own struggle to quit smoking, said he was eager to sign the legislation, and the House planned a vote for Friday. Cigarette foes said the measure would not only cut deaths but reduce the $100 billion in annual health care costs linked to tobacco.

Fierce opposition by the industry and tobacco-state lawmakers had prevented passage for years, along with veto threats by the George W. Bush White House. In the end, the nation's biggest tobacco company supported the measure, though rivals suggested that was because it could lock in Philip Morris' share of the market.

Cigarette smoking kills about 400,000 people in the United States every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 45 million U.S. adults are smokers, though the prevalence has fallen since the U.S. surgeon general's warning 45 years ago that tobacco causes lung cancer.

The legislation, one of the most dramatic anti-smoking initiatives since the surgeon general's report, would give the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate the content, marketing and advertising of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

"This legislation represents the strongest action Congress has ever taken to reduce tobacco use, the leading preventable cause of death in the United States," declared Matthew Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids.

The 79-17 Senate vote sent the measure back to the House, which in April passed a similar but not identical version. House acceptance of the Senate bill would send it directly to Obama, who said Thursday that final passage "will make history by giving the scientists and medical experts at the FDA the power to take sensible steps."

"At any given moment, millions are struggling with their habit or worrying about loved ones who smoke," said Obama.

His signature would then add tobacco to other huge, nationally important areas that have come under greater government supervision since his presidency began. Those include banking, housing and autos. Still to come, if Congress can agree: health care.

Supporters of FDA regulation of tobacco have struggled for more than a decade to overcome powerful resistance _ from the industry and elsewhere. In 2000 the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the agency did not have the authority under current law to regulate tobacco products, and the Bush administration opposed several previous efforts by Congress to write a new law.

Thursday's legislation gives the FDA power to evaluate the contents of tobacco products and to order changes or bans on those that are a danger to public health. The agency could limit nicotine yields but not ban nicotine or cigarettes.

Regulators could prohibit tobacco companies from using candy or other flavors in cigarettes that tend to attract young smokers, and restrict advertising in publications often read by teenagers. Rules on sales to minors would be toughened, as would warning labels. Tobacco companies would have to get FDA approval for new products, and would be barred from using terms such as "light" or "mild" that imply a smaller health risk.

Costs of the new program would be paid for through a fee imposed on tobacco companies.

"This is a bill that will protect children and will protect America," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a leading supporter. "Every day that we don't act, 3,500 American kids _ children _ will light up for the first time. That is enough to fill 70 school buses."

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that FDA regulation could reduce underage smoking by 11 percent over the next decade.

The bill, said American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown, "provides a tremendous opportunity to finally hold tobacco companies accountable and restrict efforts to addict more children and adults."

The tobacco lobby, contended Durbin, has long been the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill, "and they managed to create an exemption in virtually every law so that no federal agency could take a look at them and regulate them."

But the industry has also taken hits in recent years as the dangers of smoking became more apparent and states moved to limit smoking in public places. In 1998 the industry agreed to pay the states $206 billion to help cover health care costs, and this year Congress raised the federal cigarette tax by 62 cents, to $1.01 a pack, to fund a health care program for children.

The nation's largest tobacco manufacturer, Philip Morris, USA, has come out in support of the legislation. Its parent company, Altria Group, said in a statement that on balance, "the legislation is an important step forward to achieve the goal we share with others to provide federal regulation of tobacco products."

Its main rivals, however, have voiced opposition, arguing in part that FDA restrictions on new products will lock in Philip Morris' share of the market.

Lawmakers portrayed the bill as a major first step in bringing down health care costs, an essential goal of the health care overhaul legislation that is the top priority of the Obama administration this year.

"This bill may do more in the area of prevention, if adopted, than anything else we may include in the health care bill in the short term," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who managed the legislation on the Senate floor in the absence of the ailing Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who has long promoted FDA regulation.

Opponents, led by Republican Sen. Richard Burr of the tobacco-growing state of North Carolina, argued that the FDA, which is in charge of ensuring the safety of food and drug products, was the wrong place to regulate an item that is injurious to health.

He also contended that the bill would restrict tobacco companies, including several based in his state, from developing new products that might be less harmful to users. He unsuccessfully proposed the creation of a new agency that would both regulate tobacco products and encourage efforts to make cigarettes less harmful.

The bill is H.R. 1256.

On the Net:

Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov

(This version CORRECTS, deleting reference to minor differences to be worked out with House.)


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