FDA oversight of tobacco is looking more likely

House and Senate lawmakers of both parties introduced sweeping legislation Thursday to subject tobacco to the kind of safety regulation that applies to medicines and food, and said prospects for action were the most favorable in years.

“This bill is long overdue, and this is the year, I believe, that regulation of tobacco by the Food and Drug Administration is going to become law,” said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), a longtime nemesis of the tobacco industry who heads the Government Reform Committee.

“If this gets to the House floor, [its passage] will be [by] a very large margin,” said Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, Waxman’s Republican cosponsor. The legislation could garner enough support to override a veto, Davis said.

Although the White House has not supported similar legislation in the past, it’s not clear what position President Bush will take this time.

Administration officials were neutral Thursday.

“We’re in the process of reviewing the legislation,” Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Christina Pearson said. “As a general point on smoking reduction, I do want to note the substantial progress that has happened over the past 40 years. Though we must remain vigilant, ... reducing the incidence of smoking in this country has helped us avert many thousands of cases of disease.”

The tobacco industry is divided over regulation. Most major public-health groups support federal oversight.

The bill introduced Thursday would grant the FDA legal authority to regulate nicotine. The agency had previously asserted it had such power, but the Supreme Court disagreed, ruling in 2000 that Congress must specifically confer such authority.

Under the bill, the agency would also gain the power to restrict tobacco advertising, require stronger warnings on cigarette packs, mandate reductions in nicotine, regulate additives and set stiff penalties for selling to minors.

Smoking is a leading cause of cancer, heart disease and emphysema, and is estimated to cause more than 400,000 deaths a year in the United States.

Three presidential candidates immediately signed on to the legislation: Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Its principal sponsors in the Senate are Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas).

The last major battle over tobacco regulation was in 2004, when a bill passed the Senate but faltered in the House. It was blocked by Republican leaders, including former House Majority Leader Tom Delay of Texas.

The new Democratic leadership in both chambers is behind the legislation, advocates said.

“We’ve always had bipartisan support, but we didn’t have support from the leadership,” Waxman said.

The biggest cigarette company, Philip Morris Cos., favors the legislation, saying FDA oversight would provide the industry with a stable legal framework and could reduce harm from smoking. But many smaller companies oppose regulation, in part because, they say, it could create roadblocks to competition that would benefit Philip Morris.

Congressional debates on health issues often turn personal, and this one promises to be passionate. Davis said his father died of emphysema. Another cosponsor, Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), said his father smoked two packs of Camels a day and died of lung cancer.

“If we can regulate nicotine in gum, in patches and in nasal sprays, why can’t we do it in cigarettes?” Davis said.

ricardo.alonso-zaldivar@latimes.com