Senate Passes Historic Tobacco Bill

The Senate passed a historic anti-smoking bill yesterday – the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act – which gives the FDA broad authority to regulate the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products. The bill passed the Senate with broad bi-partisan support (79-17) and is expected to pass the House (which passed a similar version of the bill in April) and be signed into law by the President.

Democratic Senators Dick Durbin (IL), Chris Dodd (CT), Tom Harkin (IA), Jack Reed (RI) and Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ) held a press conference this afternoon to praise the passage of the legislation. Senator Durbin (IL) said, “The tobacco companies’ days of peddling one of the most deadly products in the world have finally come to an end. With the passage of today’s legislation we will begin to reduce the terrible toll tobacco has taken on children and families across the nation.”

The Washington Post reported:

“…Congress has been trying for more than a decade to regulate tobacco, coming close several times but faltering in the face of opposition from the tobacco lobby, the White House or procedural hang-ups. But in the years that the debate has raged, changing social attitudes toward tobacco helped transform the idea of regulation from controversial to common sense.

"There's not a smoker in the country that's an adult who wishes their children would begin smoking," said Sen. Chris Dodd, himself a former smoker. "And there are many adult smokers today who wish they never started. . . . This has been a very long battle. . . . For the first time we're going to make a difference. The FDA is going to regulate the production, sale and marketing of these products. That is history."

UPDATED by Cloe:

The House passed the bill today 307 to 97. Minutes after the legislation passed, President Obama made a statement from the Rose Garden. It’s excerpted here:

"…For over a decade, leaders of both parties have fought to prevent tobacco companies from marketing their products to children, and provide the public with the information they need to understand what a dangerous habit this is. And after a decade of opposition, all of us are finally about to achieve the victory with this bill, a bill that truly defines change in Washington.

"I'm proud that the House and the Senate have acted swiftly and in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion to pass this legislation that will protect our kids and improve our public health. Along with legislation to protect credit card owners from unfair rate hikes, homeowners from mortgage fraud and abuse, and taxpayers from wasteful defense spending, this kids tobacco bill would be the fourth piece of bipartisan legislation that I've signed into law over the last month that protects the American consumer, and changes the way Washington works and who Washington works for...."

Comments (1) «

This is long overdue. I have to wonder what else what stuck in the bill to get it to pass.

This addictive drug has killed my mother and is killing my father, and now my kids are addicts too.

1

Esmeralda on June 13, 2009 at 08:01 AM

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