Senate HELP Committee Passes Landmark Tobacco Bill

The FDA would gain the authority to regulate tobacco products under a bipartisan bill recently passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, or HELP, Committee. A similar bill is winding its way through the U.S. House.

In a 13-8 vote, the Senate committee passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, S.B. 625, (at the THOMAS Web site, type "S 625" in the search box after selecting "Bill Number") on August 1. The legislation proposes giving the FDA the authority to restrict tobacco marketing and sales while requiring tobacco companies to disclose the contents of tobacco products. A companion bill, H.R. 1108, is pending in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Under the Senate bill, the FDA would have the ability to stop illegal sales of tobacco products to children and adolescents and the authority to restrict advertising and promotions that appeal to children and adolescents. States, meanwhile, would be granted the authority to regulate cigarette marketing for the first time in 40 years. The full Senate is expected to vote on the measure this fall.

In 2004, the Senate overwhelming passed a similar bill, but it died in a conference committee. President Bush, who opposed the 2004 measure, has not said whether he opposes the current measure.

"The bipartisan legislation will save millions of lives and save others from a lifetime of addiction and certain death," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., chair of the HELP Committee, in an Aug. 2 press statement.

Kennedy, who sponsored the Senate legislation, accused the tobacco industry of seducing "generations of children into a lifetime of addiction and early death. Enacting this bill this year is the right thing to do for America's children. They are depending on us. By passing this legislation, we can help them live longer, healthier lives."

The AAFP strongly supports the legislation and has signed two congressional letters urging enactment of the measure. The first letter (3-page Word Document; About Downloading), sent to House members on June 7, was signed by the AAFP, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and more than 35 other health-related organizations. It points out that "tobacco use kills more than 400,000 Americans annually and is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States."

"H.R. 1108/S. 625 would make it more difficult for tobacco companies to market to children and (would) stop tobacco companies from deceiving adults about the risks from their products," says the letter.

The June 7 letter also cites an Institute of Medicine report that calls for enactment of legislation granting the FDA regulatory authority over tobacco products, stating that the FDA "is the only existing regulatory agency with expertise both in scientific and health issues and in product regulation." The letter notes that "researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that the nicotine content in cigarettes has increased 10 percent since 1998, making it harder for smokers to quit and easier for kids to get addicted." According to the letter, "the FDA is the only federal agency with the scientific knowledge to track such changes and set a level of nicotine that could help smokers quit."

The second letter, dated July 17 and sent to Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., chair of a HELP subcommittee, contains the signatures of more than 400 organizations from a broad cross section of society, including the AAFP and 19 of the Academy's constituent chapters. The letter raises concerns that "opponents of effective FDA tobacco regulation will seek to weaken the bills."

"Our organizations will work vigorously to protect the bills as they currently exist and will oppose efforts to eliminate or weaken the FDA authority they provide," the letter says.

The July 17 letter also notes that "43 years have passed since the U.S. Surgeon General reported on the unquestionable dangers of smoking. Since that time, tobacco products have become the largest single preventable cause of death in America, while Congress has yet to take meaningful action."