Senate Passes Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
06.11.09
On June 11, 2009, the United States Senate took the nation one step closer to permanently altering the face of public health in America as it passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. This groundbreaking piece of legislation – passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on April 2nd – grants the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight over the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products. It results from decades of long and dedicated work by opponents of Big Tobacco’s unrelenting grip on families across the nation. “Today marks an historic culmination of a more than 20 year journey to provide the FDA urgently needed regulatory control over the tobacco industry,” said Paul G. Billings American Lung Association Vice President for Policy and Advocacy. “This long overdue legislation will protect kids and reduce the terrible human and financial burden caused by tobacco use in this country.”
Although differences between the Senate and the House versions of the bill will need to be resolved, thanks to the efforts of Senators Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT), as well as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and other steadfast supporters, the bill is now closer than ever to becoming law. The American Lung Association recognizes these Senators and all others whose strong support for this legislation ensured its passage.
The act attests to the hard-won success and effectiveness of a growing bipartisan push to control and regulate tobacco companies by placing restrictions on their ability to target advertising to children, make misleading health claims and manipulate their products to make them more addictive. We hope the Congress will quickly send this legislation to President Obama’s desk.
