Congress Starts Hearings on FDA's Control of Tobacco

Some call it a boon for Americans' health, others disagree.

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
Wednesday, October 3, 2007; 12:00 AM

Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 3 (HealthDay News) -- As Congressional hearings on the issue got underway Wednesday, the chief of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reiterated his opposition to a proposed bill granting the agency oversight over tobacco products.

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Act may be well-intentioned, said Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach in a statement released to meeting attendees, but "the bill could undermine the public health role of FDA."

The agency is charged with regulating goods that promote the public health, he noted, but the new bill "would ask us to apply this framework to tobacco products that, when used as intended, produce disease rather than promote health," von Eschenbach said. "FDA cannot 'approve' a tobacco product in this context, because there is no scientific context to determine benefit to outweigh the numerous risks."

In fact, "we are concerned that the public will believe that products 'approved' by the Agency are safe and that this will actually encourage individuals to smoke more rather than less," the former oncologist said.

Von Eschenbach also voiced concerns that the agency simply does not have the resources, either in money or skilled workers, to take on a new "tobacco center."

Wednesday's hearings on Capitol Hill on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should regulate tobacco have certainly relit a long-smoldering debate.

Those on both sides of the issue remain divided on whether the bill will impact tobacco use, blamed for killing some 436,000 Americans a year, or almost one in every five deaths.

Overall, 200 sponsors have lined up to support legislation pending in the House, including Rep. John Dingell, (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Health, which is hosting this week's hearing.

The bill also has the support of 55 senators and more than 500 public advocacy groups, according to Mathew L. Myers, president of the nonprofit Campaign for Tobacco Free-Kids.

"The hearings are the next step for a bill that is gaining momentum and bipartisan support," said Myers.