"Tobacco is the only legal product that causes death and disability when used as intended." (CDC, 2000) On February 15, 2007 Senate sponsors Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and John Cornyn (R-TX) and House sponsors Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Tom Davis (R-VA) introduced bipartisan legislation to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) comprehensive authority to regulate the manufacture, sale, and marketing of tobacco products. If passed, this legislation could save lives by preventing the initiation of tobacco use, and encouraging smokers to quit.

What will the proposed FDA regulation over tobacco do?

• Reinstate the 1996 FDA Rule on youth access and marketing
• Grant FDA specific authority to restrict tobacco marketing
• Empower FDA to establish a periodically re-evaluated content standard, and require changes in tobacco products to meet the standard
• Ban all cigarette flavorings other than menthol, that is a characterizing flavor of the product
• Ban the use on labels or in advertising of terms such as “light,” “mild,” or “low.”
• Strictly regulate “reduced harm” products
• Bigger, better health warnings
• Establish a Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee
• Fund FDA activity through a fee on tobacco product manufacturers, allocated by market share
• Eliminate Existing Federal Preemption of State Laws Restricting Cigarette Advertising
• Protect States’ Ability to Pass Other Tobacco Control Laws

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