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Thursday, April 03, 2008

Tobacco Regulation Bill on the Move

The House yesterday took a step toward regulating tobacco products, as the Energy and Commerce Committee voted 32-12 in favor of giving oversight authority to the Food and Drug Administration.

Among other things, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1108) would allow FDA to set standards for nicotine content in cigarettes and to exert control over the marketing and advertising of tobacco products. The bill would not permit FDA to ban nicotine outright. The bill would allow FDA to collect user fees — a controversial process whereby regulated companies pay the federal government to inspect and oversee their products — in order to fund a new tobacco regulation office. (More info here.)

The federal government can regulate lots of products that have the potential to do harm including food, pharmaceuticals, and vehicles. Yet on tobacco, a product certain to do harm, government is completely powerless.

Industry pressure has kept tobacco off the government's regulatory radar, as a New York Times editorial states this morning: "For years, the industry greedily fought off regulation with mendacious denials and addictive donations to lawmakers' re-election kitties."

This time around, the tobacco industry is divided. Phillip Morris has expressed support for the bill, but Reynolds American is opposed. Reynolds claims that FDA is ill-equipped to handle the additional regulatory challenge.

If you're waiting for FDA to set the record straight on its ability to regulate tobacco, don't hold your breath. FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said last year that placing tobacco under the agency's purview would be a burden, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription). The Journal also reports President Bush may veto the bill if Congress finalizes it this year.

FDA is an underfunded agency, and the lack of funding has made it difficult for FDA to fulfill its mission. However, the user fee program should provide a steady source of income. According to the Journal, "The House panel estimates that the FDA will collect $85 million from tobacco companies in the first year and eventually assess fees of $712 million in the next decade."

Moreover, FDA should not shy away from the responsibility to regulate tobacco because it cannot afford to do so. Instead, it should embrace tobacco regulation, then zealously push Congress to provide robust funding for all the agency's activities.