Landmark tobacco bill passes Senate

The Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation Thursday that for the first time would bring down the full force of the government’s regulatory hammer on the tobacco industry.

The measure, which anti-smoking advocates have pursued for decades, would give the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products, including the power to dictate ingredients and nicotine levels in cigarettes.

The bill passed 79-17, with Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina joining 16 Republicans in opposing the legislation.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House, which passed its own bill in April, would likely adopt the Senate version Friday and move it quickly to President Obama for signing.

“I believe it will be possible for us to accept their bill and send it right on to the president,” the California Democrat said.

The bill would immediately impose sweeping restrictions on the marketing and sale of cigarettes to children, such as limiting where cigarette companies can advertise and banning all tobacco-brand sponsorship of sports and entertainment events.

“The United States Senate has finally said ‘no’ to Big Tobacco,” said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who sponsored the bill but missed the vote because he is battling brain cancer.

“Decades of irresponsible delay are finally over,” the Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement released after the vote.

Mrs. Hagan and North Carolina’s other senator, Republican Richard M. Burr, led efforts to defeat the bill. Their state is the country’s top tobacco producer, home to 12,000 tobacco farms and 65,000 tobacco-industry jobs.

They argued that the Food and Drug Administration was ill-equipped to oversee the tobacco industry and that the agency would undermine efforts to develop safer tobacco products by regulating ingredients in cigarettes.

The Senate passage of the bill, titled the “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act,” made the new regulations all but certain.

Medical organizations and anti-smoking groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Cancer Society, applauded the Senate vote.

“This long overdue legislation will protect kids and reduce the terrible human and financial burden caused by tobacco use in this country,” said Paul G. Billings, vice president for policy and advocacy at the American Lung Association.

The bill would require stronger warning labels and prohibit marketing cigarettes with terms such as “light” or “mild” that critics say mislead people into thinking the product is safer.

Under the legislation, the Health and Human Services secretary would be given authority to impose restrictions on the advertising and promotion of a tobacco product.

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