On July 25, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee began debating the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (S. 625). The committee held a hearing on S. 625 on February 27 (see The Source, 3/2/07).
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act would allow the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tobacco products. It also would allow the secretary of Health and Human Services to restrict the sale, distribution, flavoring, and advertising of tobacco products.
“Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in America. Nationally, cigarettes kill well over 400,000 people each year,” said Chair Edward Kennedy (D-MA). He continued, “That is more lives lost than from automobile accidents, alcohol abuse, illegal drugs, AIDS, murder, and suicide combined. Congress cannot continue to ignore a public health problem of this magnitude. And Congress will not ignore it…Under this legislation, the FDA will for the first time have the needed power and resources to take on this challenge. The costs will be funded entirely by a new user fee paid by tobacco companies in proportion to their market share…Giving FDA authority over tobacco products will not make the tragic toll of tobacco use disappear overnight. More than forty million people are hooked on this highly addictive product and many of them have been unable to quit despite repeated attempts. However, FDA action can play a major role in breaking the gruesome cycle that seduces millions of teenagers into a lifetime of addition and premature death.” Sen. Kennedy concluded, “Enacting this bill this year is the right thing to do for American’s children. They are depending on us. By passing this legislation, we can help them live longer, healthier lives.”
Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-WY) said, “Tobacco kills. We need new ideas to get people to stop smoking, or better yet, never to start. That’s what my legislation [the Help End Addiction to Lethal Tobacco Habits (HEALTH) Act, S. 1843] does. The Democrat alternative just preserves the status quo for Big Tobacco, and at the end of the day, it throws away a lot of money.” He continued, “Imagine an America without tobacco. An America where Big Tobacco couldn’t lure your children into a deadly habit. An America where your friends and loved ones didn’t tragically die young from the effects of this poison. And an America where your medical costs would be significantly lower without tobacco-related illnesses. That’s an America I’d like to live in wouldn’t you?” Sen. Enzi concluded, “The FDA approves cures, not poisons. It cannot be forced into the position of approving products we all know are dangerous, without also having the authority to ban these products…When I listen to the American people, they don’t want their children to smoke ‘safer cigarettes.’ They know there is no such thing. The Democrat bill would allow Big Tobacco to deceive the American people into believing that certain tobacco products are somehow safe. Let me be clear they’re not.”
During debate on the bill, the committee adopted, by voice vote, an amendment by Sen. Enzi that would require that warning labels cover at least 50 percent of tobacco product packages. The labels also would be required to include full-color, graphic images.
An amendment by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) that would have delayed implementation of the bill for one year until the Institute of Medicine issued a report on a suggested funding level for the FDA’s tobacco regulation activities was rejected, 9-12.
The committee will continue debating the measure on August 1.
