New era of U.S. tobacco regulation at hand

[Christopher]

WASHINGTON —-- In a historic shift in public health policy almost half a century after the U.S. surgeon general first warned of the lethal dangers of smoking, Congress is poised to give the federal government sweeping new authority to regulate the manufacturing of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

The legislation, long resisted by the tobacco industry, could allow consumers to see for the first time what chemicals and other additives tobacco companies put in their products. It would empower the Food and Drug Administration to put new limits on harmful ingredients and prohibit tobacco companies from marketing "light" cigarettes.

And it would give the FDA new authority to enlarge warning labels and severely restrict full-color ads for cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Yet the victory, which eluded anti-tobacco advocates for decades, comes with challenges as well as promise, as federal officials are given never-before-used tools to control a product that is still linked to some 400,000 deaths every year in the United States.

Particularly tricky may be keeping up the

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[PoppaC]

Interestingly stupid..... Now they want to regulate tobacco products..... FDA can't handle what it has now..... Congress thinks they have replaced everyones' momma.....

[Christopher]

Amen to that!

It's funny they are going to regulate certain chemicals within the cigarette, yet they will still continue to sell it KNOWING it's hazards to your health. It's just irony to the max

[Genet1c]

it just doesnt make sense, cigarette=proven harmful, e-cig=so far nada!!!. And NOW the fda starts bitchin bout em both. I love america but damn does the fda suck.