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Senate passes bill giving FDA authority to regulate tobacco marketing, especially to minors
American Thoracic Society
In a move that will fundamentally redefine the way the United States regulates tobacco, the Senate Friday passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act by a vote of 79 to 17.
The legislation grants the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate the marketing of tobacco products, specifically marketing designed to mislead consumers or recruit underage smokers.
“It is time that attention is drawn to the long time, intentional targeting of children by the tobacco industry,” said John Heffner, MD, past president of the American Thoracic Society. “We have too long tolerated the industry’s efforts to cultivate smokers at a young and vulnerable age to guarantee profit for tobacco producers.”
