FDA may regulate cigarettes

Comparable bills in both the House and Senate would grant the agency authority to regulate tar, nicotine, and other ingredients of tobacco products, many of which have been proven to cause cancer. Cigarette smoke alone contains about 4 000 chemicals, and more than 40 are known to be carcinogenic, the wire service said.

The legislation would authorise the FDA to approve any new tobacco products, to set federal standards for how all tobacco products are manufactured, and require that makers list all of the ingredients on tobacco product labels.

Among those not altogether sold on the bill is FDA Commissioner Dr Andrew von Eschenbach, the AP reported. Von Eschenbach recently said he wouldn't want the agency put in a position of having to regulate products that are inherently unsafe, the wire service said. – (HealthDayNews)

July 2007