Blowing Smoke

Drugs, some of which save lives while others just end a headache, are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. So are cookies and milk. But, cigarettes, one of the more deadly consumer products, do not fall under FDA jurisdiction. That would change, as it should, if a Senate version of a major corporate tax bill becomes law. Getting a bill with FDA regulation of tobacco through a joint House-Senate conference committee is a difficult process, but it is one Sen. Olympia Snowe, one of 30 conferees, should support.

The Senate version of the bill, which couples FDA authority with a tobacco-grower buyout financed by the tobacco industry, is far superior to the House version, which contains only a buyout financed by taxpayers. The challenge is that the conference committee is headed by House member Bill Thomas of California, who is likely to present his chamber’s version of the bill for consideration. It would take a majority of conferees to amend the bill to include the FDA regulation provision. To overcome this setup, Sen. Snowe, lead Senate conferee Charles Grassley of Iowa, and others should insist that, at a minimum, either the FDA language is in the final bill or that the buyout provisions come out.

Sen. Snowe, like 77 of her Senate colleagues, long supported a version of the bill that gave the FDA regulatory authority over tobacco. Also under the Senate bill, the FDA could require cigarette makers to disclose the ingredients in their products and tobacco products could not be labeled as “light” unless they were proven to be safer than regular cigarettes. Most importantly, the agency could ban the sale of flavored cigarettes, currently a growth segment of the industry, and could curb ads targeted at children.

To complicate matters, FDA authority is tied to a tobacco-growers buyout. The buyout is needed to end a Depression-era quota system that props up prices. The Senate version of the bill finances a $12 billion buyout through an assessment on cigarette companies. A House version of the bill would use taxpayer dollars for a $9.6 billion buyout.

A further complication is that the tobacco issues are part of a larger trade and tax bill that must be passed in order to bring the United States into compliance with international requirements. The European Union is levying tariffs on U.S. exports until the country removes export subsidies outlawed by the World Trade Organization. This bill would accomplish this.

Republican leaders in the House charge that some in the Senate are putting U.S. trade – and hence jobs – in jeopardy by insisting that the FDA language remains in the bill. However, the same charge could be made against House members who want a tobacco buyout, but not government regulation in the bill.

It is up to moderates like Sen. Snowe to ensure that jobs and health are preserved by insisting that FDA oversight of tobacco remain in the final bill.