FDA May Gain Ability to Regulate Tobacco

The Washington Post reports that a bill making its way through Congress would allow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tobacco products. HR 1256, which has passed the House and is now making its way through the Senate, would give the Food and Drug Administration the ability to regulate the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco.

At present you can't find much on the FDA's website about tobacco regulation. If you search the site for the term "tobacco," your first search result is this FDA and Tobacco Regulation statement, which explains that "on March 21, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lacks the authority to regulate tobacco." In the Federal Register you can find more information about how the Supreme Court's ruling revoked federal authority over state and local tobacco laws and federal regulation of tobacco sales.

For further resources, see our guide to Health.