Key Tobacco Bill Provisions Approved by Negotiators

Negotiators agreed Sunday on most of the provisions of Congress’ leading tobacco bill, which would charge the industry $138 billion more and impose harsher restrictions than the settlement companies and states reached in June.

Negotiators also gave the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate nicotine products, a victory for the health community and the White House. But the bill also sets strict guidelines for the FDA if it tries to ban nicotine.

Negotiators left unfinished the central issues of debate: how much, if any, legal protection to give the industry, and how, specifically, to spend the $506 billion over 25 years that the companies would pay.

The round-the-clock talks involve about two dozen major players, including representatives of federal agencies, private health care groups and the White House. Several negotiators said the sponsor, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), probably will announce the plan for legal protections at midweek and leave the funding question unanswered, to be debated on the Senate floor.