Congress again tries to give FDA control over tobacco

Many would welcome regulation, but some question whether FDA oversight will lead to the erroneous conclusion that tobacco products will be safer.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. March 19, 2007.

Washington -- Some members of Congress have launched a repeat effort to give the Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over tobacco products. Supporters of bipartisan House and Senate bills, including the AMA, hope that this time will prove the charm.

Although the bills would not allow the FDA to ban tobacco, they would allow the agency to restrict the advertising and promotion of tobacco products to children, identify toxic substances, require the placement of new and larger warning labels, and fast-track the development and approval of new nicotine replacement products. Tobacco companies also would be charged user fees to cover the FDA's regulatory costs.

Tobacco use remains the single most preventable cause of death in the United States, according to the American Heart Assn., which also backs the measures. More than 440,000 people in the U.S. die each year from tobacco-related diseases, with heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases accounting for more than one-third of deaths, according to the AHA.

"Each day, approximately 4,000 kids will try a cigarette for the first time, and another 1,000 will become new, regular, daily smokers," said AMA President-elect Ron Davis, MD, in a statement. The AMA applauded the new bills for their potential, especially to protect children.

"Given what we know about the health effects of smoking and the powerful addictive properties of nicotine, it is unconscionable that tobacco products are currently one of the least regulated products in our society," said Dr. Davis, who directed the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Office on Smoking and Health from 1987 to 1991.