Tobacco-limits bill heads to Senate

0 Comments | USA TODAY, July, 2008 | by Wendy Koch

Cigarettes would carry larger warning labels, their ads would be limited, candy flavoring in them would be banned, and nicotine levels might be lowered under landmark legislation the House of Representatives passed Wednesday.

The bill would give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco products.

It needs the approval of the Senate, which has previously voted for such a measure. The Bush administration opposes the bill, but the House's 326-102 vote shows it could get the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.

"This ... has the potential to save more lives than any other public health legislation in the past 50 years," said John Seffrin, head of the American Cancer Society.

In 1996, the FDA sought to...