House Approves Smokeless Tobacco Bill : Would Ban Radio and TV Ads, Require Health Warning Labels

The House on Monday passed legislation that would ban all radio and television advertising of smokeless tobacco and require health warning labels on all such packages alerting the public to the dangers of oral cancer and gum disease associated with its use.

The measure, drafted by an unusual alliance of health organizations and industry, would require one of three warnings to appear on tins and pouches of snuff and chewing tobacco, including: “This product is not a safe alternative to cigarettes.”

The other warnings would read: “This product may cause mouth cancer” and “This product may cause gum disease and tooth loss.”

Bill Returned to Senate

The compromise bill, approved on a voice vote without objection, was returned to the Senate on Monday, where Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, said he would accept the House version. The Senate bill, which already has been approved, provided for warning labels in a format to be decided by the Federal Trade Commission but did not ban broadcast advertising.

A spokesman for the Senate committee said Monday night that he hopes the bill will be considered by the Senate under an expedited procedure but added that he expects opposition from Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), who represents a large tobacco-producing state. Capitol Hill sources said that the cigarette industry is concerned that the smokeless tobacco legislation may inspire congressional efforts to require stronger warning labels on cigarettes.

The Smokeless Tobacco Council, which represents five companies with combined sales totaling $700 million a year, called the warnings “unwarranted.” Nevertheless, it helped write the compromise House version of the bill to avoid “inconsistent and different” labeling requirements now being considered in 35 states.

“Now that the Congress has decided there ought to be labels . . . we agree the solution should be in a national, uniform law,” said Michael Kerrigan, president of the council.

Reagan OK Expected

California Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), sponsor of the bill and chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on health, predicted that President Reagan would sign the legislation.

“I hope these warning labels will discourage people from using it,” Waxman said. “I’ve been particularly concerned about the rise we’ve seen among the young. I hope the ban on advertising will stop the hype of this product to young people, especially by those who try to make it attractive by using athletes as role models.”

Last month a panel convened by the National Institutes of Health called the use of snuff and chewing tobacco “health-endangering behavior” with “the clear potential for long-term and serious consequences.”

“This is not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking,” said Dr. Brian MacMahon, the panel chairman. “It removes the risk of cancer of the lung, but puts you at substantial risk for cancer of the mouth and all of the same risks associated with nicotine and cigarette smoking.”

The panel estimated that 10 million Americans use the products, 3 million of them under the age of 21.

Although dry snuff is sniffed through the nose in some countries, both chewing tobacco and dry and moist snuff are commonly used in the mouth in the United States.

New Oral Cancer Cases

The NIH committee concluded after a two-day conference that smokeless tobacco strongly contributes to the development of cancers of the mouth and throat, particularly among those who begin using it in childhood. The National Cancer Institute has estimated that 28,900 new cases of oral cancer occurred in 1985, with 9,500 deaths.

The committee also said that regular users of smokeless tobacco show similar levels of nicotine in their blood as cigarette smokers and that such levels can cause increases in blood pressure, heart rates, blood lipids--or fats--and hormones that affect mood behavior.

Surgeon General C. Everett Koop is conducting a major study on smokeless tobacco, scheduled for release April 1, and other recently published surveys have indicated the growing popularity of the product among young people. The February edition of the American Journal of Public Health published several studies indicating that young people are turning to smokeless tobacco.