WASHINGTON, May 11 (UPI) -- Both supporters and critics of a U.S. Senate bill to regulate the manufacture and marketing of cigarettes say the measure is likely to pass.
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a version of the tobacco regulation bill and it has been put onto a fast track in the Senate for this week, where analysts say it has a filibuster-proof number of senators backing it, The Washington Post reported.
The bill would require the tobacco industry for the first time to disclose the ingredients in their cigarettes and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will have to power to ban harmful chemicals from them, as well as to dictate the levels of addictive nicotine they contain, the newspaper said.
"If this happens, and if the FDA uses its powers, it will be an enormous public health achievement," Matthew Meyers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, told the Post.
Cigarette maker Altria Group, formerly Philip Morris, reportedly says it welcomes FDA regulation after years of opposing it because it will help in marketing a new generation of products that aren't as dangerous to public health.
