Landmark tobacco regulation bill goes to Obama

By Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A landmark bill giving the U.S. government broad regulatory power for the first time over cigarettes and other tobacco products won final approval in Congress on Friday, and President Barack Obama said he would quickly sign it into law.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation in a 307-97 vote one day after it secured Senate approval. It marked the culmination of a quest by tobacco industry foes in Congress dating back more than a decade to put cigarettes under the control of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The bill allows the FDA to put stringent new limits on the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products but stops short of banning cigarettes or their addictive ingredient nicotine.

Nearly 20 percent of Americans smoke, and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, emphysema and other ailments, officials say.

"This legislation ... will protect our kids and improve our public health," Obama, who has admitted his own battles to quit smoking, said after the House vote. "So I look forward to signing it."

Under the plan, the FDA for the first time will monitor and inspect tobacco companies. Cigarette makers must pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fees, register with the agency, and provide a list of all the products they make.

The measure also calls for larger warnings on cigarette packages, restricts vending machine sales, bans most flavored products and further curbs print advertisements targeting children. The FDA also will have final say over new products and marketing claims such as "light" and "low tar."

Health advocates backed the plan, saying it would reduce smoking, prevent disease and lower soaring healthcare costs.