Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Sam Wechsler - Talk Radio News Service

On Friday the House of Representatives agreed to a Senate amendment on “The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.” The bill, H.R. 1256, is now set to go before President Obama. The bill gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) much more control over the tobacco industry in order to protect the health of the American people, especially children. The House voted 307-97. All but 7 nea votes came from Republicans.

Said Congressman Jim Moran (D-V.A.), “In their boardroom [tobacco companies] discussed how important it was to get kids to smart smoking at 14 or 15 years of age because then they would be loyal to their brand, let alone addicted to the product.” He added, “[Tobacco companies] manipulated the media, deceived the American people, [and argued] the science wasn’t really there to claim cigarettes were a problem.”

The legislation allows the FDA to force tobacco companies to change their ingredients if necessary, bans the production of flavored tobacco products, and bans the use of descriptions such as “light” or “mild.” The bill also restricts advertisements geared towards youths.

Although President Obama is a smoker, he was pleased to know the House agreed to the Senate amendment. He now plans to sign the bill himself. Shortly after the House vote took place, the President stated, “this bill will be the fourth piece of bipartisan legislation that I’ve signed into law over the last month that protects the American consumer.”