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Last Updated: Aug 15th, 2007 - 11:22:06 |
Tobacco bill moves through House committee
Aug 15, 2007, 11:19
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The bill to regulate tobacco products has moved one step closer to being enacted into law. The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions [HELP] Committee approved legislation on Aug. 1 to provide the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] with authority to regulate tobacco products. "The committee's vote moves Congress a critical step closer to enacting truly historic legislation that can protect children from tobacco addiction and save countless lives," said William V. Corr, executive director for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Now the bill will move through the Senate and the House for a vote. In June, Congressman Frank Pallone (D-6) held a Tobacco and Health forum at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Schwartzman Courtyard in New Brunswick, which included state Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-19), representatives from the hospital, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. Pallone is the chairman of the Congressional Health, Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over issues pertaining to energy, environment, health care, commerce and telecommunications. In January, Pallone was chosen by his colleagues on the Energy and Commerce Committee to chair the subcommittee on health. The subcommittee has sole jurisdiction over Medicaid, the Food and Drug Administration [FDA], the National Institutes of Health [NIH] and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], and shares jurisdiction of Medicare with the Ways and Means Committee. It oversees public health, biomedical programs, food and drug safety, mental health and research, hospital construction, and all health-care homeland security-related concerns. In February, two new bills were introduced in the U.S. Congress designed to give the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products: HR-1108, sponsored by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-California) and Tom Davis (R-Virginia); and S-625, sponsored by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) and Jon Cornyn (R-Texas). The legislation would grant the FDA authority to crack down on tobacco marketing and sales to kids; require that tobacco companies disclose the contents of tobacco products and reduce or remove harmful ingredients; stop tobacco companies from misleading the public about the health risks and their products, and require larger, more effective health warnings on tobacco products. More than 440,000 Americans die each year from tobacco-related disease, with heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases accounting for more than one-third of these deaths. Tobacco use kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined, according to the AHA. Pallone and Vitale offered some insight on why a bill to regulate tobacco products has taken so long. In 1996, the FDA asserted jurisdiction over tobacco products under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act. These regulations were designed to regulate tobacco advertising and promotional campaigns as well as labeling and purchasing restrictions. The tobacco industry sued the federal government, arguing that the FDA lacked legal authority to regulate tobacco products. The tobacco industry, Pallone said, has its roots in the founding of this country. "People have to understand that the tobacco industry was founded in the Jamestown Settlement in Virginia," said Pallone. "They just celebrated their 400th anniversary, and the American system will never forget that. The tobacco industry is very powerful." Vitale said tobacco has evolved in society. "In World War II, every GI was given cigarettes in their kit," he said. "We went from 100,000 GIs who did not smoke to 100,000 who did. I remember Johnny Carson used to smoke on the set. It was all part of the culture, but we knew all along that smoking was harmful." Pallone said psychology plays a major part in tobacco advertising. "As a kid, you look at advertisements and your peers," said Pallone. "According to the advertisements, it's sexy to drink alcohol and it's cool to smoke."
© Copyright 2006 by CigarettesOn.Com
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