Published 22 June 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2539
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b2539

News

US Congress tells FDA to regulate tobacco

Janice Hopkins Tanne

1 New York

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The US Congress has passed legislation giving the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, and chewing tobacco.

The different bills passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate have been reconciled and sent to President Barack Obama for his signature. The president, who has struggled to quit smoking, said he would sign the bill quickly.

The legislation was praised by the American Medical Association, the American Lung Association, and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, among other groups.

Nancy Nielsen, president of the American Medical Association, said, "More than 400 000 Americans die needlessly every year as a direct result of tobacco use . . . The sad truth is that tobacco related deaths are the number one preventable cause of death in the US. Physicians are working not only to treat diseases like cancer that result from tobacco use but to . . . [Full text of this article]


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