Obama Sees 'Victory' in Passage of FDA-Tobacco Bill

President Obama praised the passage of a bill allowing the FDA to regulate tobacco products as “a long time coming," the Hill reports. The legislation, which sailed through the House this morning, grants the agency new power to regulate tobacco ingredients and marketing. "After a decade of opposition, all of us are about to achieve victory with this bill," said Obama, a former smoker.

The bill not only allows regulators to ban misleading cigarette ads but also mandates that advertising be in black-and-white only, forbids the production of sweet-flavored products , and permits drastic reduction of nicotine content, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. The measure also addresses a Clinton-era Supreme Court ruling that the FDA needed congressional approval to regulate tobacco.
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