Cigarettes face new US curbs

The cigarette industry has been dealt a fresh blow in the US after the House of Representatives backed legislation giving the Food and Drug Administration power to regulate tobacco products.

A Bill that would see tobacco treated as a drug means new products would have to be approved by the FDA, and tightens restrictions on advertising. Fresh penalties will also be imposed for selling to children.

Although the Senate has twice passed the legislation, it has until now been rejected by the lower house. But the White House has threatened to block the Bill, fearing that it will increase the burden on the already-stretched FDA, and that regulation could encourage smokers to consider cigarettes to be safe.

The industry would face a huge bill to fund the programme. Cigarette sales have run out of puff in the US as anti-smoking campaigns have been stepped up, advertising curbed and smoking bans brought in.