Nos EUA lei determina que os ingredientes que compõem o cigarro sejam revelados(EFE) O Senado dos Estados Unidos aprovou hoje delegar ao Governo o controle da produção, venda e publicidade do cigarro, apesar das objeções da indústria, que, desta forma, será obrigada a revelar quais ingredientes usa nos produtos.
A iniciativa promovida pelo democrata e ex-fumante Christopher Dodd, entre outros legisladores, é similar a uma aprovada em maio pela Câmara de Representantes.
A medida concede este controle à agência reguladora de alimentos e remédios dos Estados Unidos (FDA, em inglês) "Os milagres ainda acontecem. Finalmente o Senado dos EUA disse 'não'" à indústria do tabaco, afirmou em uma declaração emitida por seu escritório o senador democrata Ted Kennedy, que não participou da votação por causa do câncer cerebral que o afeta.Segundo os analistas, a lei não só reduzirá o número de mortes causadas pelo fumo, mas também significará uma economia anual de US$ 100 bilhões em custos por atendimento médico.Fontes legislativas explicaram que isso significa que a lei obrigará a indústria do tabaco, que movimenta anualmente US$ 89 bilhões, a declarar de que são feitos os seus produtos, entre os quais se incluem cigarros, charutos e tabaco de mascar.
Além disso, o organismo do Governo federal estará autorizado a proibir o uso de substâncias que considere nocivas.
A medida ordena que as companhias aumentem os rótulos de advertência nos maços dos produtos e incluam imagens sobre os danos que o cigarro pode causar à saude.
A publicidade será restringida, e as tabaqueiras deverão eliminar os termos "light", "mild" e "low", a menos que consigam provar que os produtos que os usam são realmente menos nocivos.
O projeto de lei recebeu 79 votos a favor e 17 contra, e o presidente Barack Obama, que reconheceu que ocasionalmente fuma, anunciou que sancionará a lei assim que chegar à Casa Branca, o que poderia ocorrer na próxima semana, disseram fontes legislativas.
Dodd elogiou a votação a favor na Câmara Alta e assinalou que "não há um fumante adulto neste país que deseje que seus filhos comecem a fumar e também há muitos adultos que desejam não ter começado jamais".
A aprovação do Senado e a eventual promulgação da lei constituem um dos últimos capítulos nos esforços do Congresso americano para regular a indústria do tabaco, que se arrastaram durante mais de uma década.
Cigarettes under U.S. Food and Drug Administration
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A landmark bill giving the U.S. government broad regulatory power for the first time over cigarettes and other tobacco products won final approval in Congress on Friday, and President Barack Obama said he would quickly sign it into law.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation in a 307-97 vote one day after it secured Senate approval. It marked the culmination of a quest by tobacco industry foes in Congress dating back more than a decade to put cigarettes under the control of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The bill allows the FDA to put stringent new limits on the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products but stops short of banning cigarettes or their addictive ingredient nicotine. Nearly 20 percent of Americans smoke, and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, emphysema and other illness, officials say.
"This legislation ... will protect our kids and improve our public health," Obama, who has admitted his own battles to quit smoking, said after the House vote. "So I look forward to signing it." Under the plan, the FDA for the first time will monitor and inspect tobacco companies. Cigarette makers must pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fees, register with the agency, and provide a list of all the products they make. The measure also calls for larger warnings on cigarette packages, restricts vending machine sales, bans most flavored products and further curbs print advertisements targeting children. The FDA also will have final say over new products and marketing claims such as "light" and "low tar."
Health advocates backed the plan, saying it would reduce smoking, prevent disease and lower soaring healthcare costs.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, whose helped lead the effort, said FDA oversight will rein in an industry known for aggressive marketing efforts. "We are today at the last gasp of the tobacco industry's efforts to protect their profits at the expense of the health and lives of the American people and to get children to take up this habit," Waxman said.
With the exception of Altria Group Inc's Philip Morris unit, the largest U.S. cigarette maker, tobacco companies opposed the plan, saying it would hamper their ability to bring new, safer products to market. Regulation of the tobacco industry until now has been cobbled together by states, court rulings and other U.S. agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission. Much of the authority would now be in the FDA's hands.
Last month, a U.S. appeals court found that cigarette companies lied for decades about the dangers of smoking and ordered them to launch advertisements highlighting the risks.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A landmark bill giving the U.S. government broad regulatory power for the first time over cigarettes and other tobacco products won final approval in Congress on Friday, and President Barack Obama said he would quickly sign it into law.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation in a 307-97 vote one day after it secured Senate approval. It marked the culmination of a quest by tobacco industry foes in Congress dating back more than a decade to put cigarettes under the control of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The bill allows the FDA to put stringent new limits on the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products but stops short of banning cigarettes or their addictive ingredient nicotine. Nearly 20 percent of Americans smoke, and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, emphysema and other illness, officials say.
"This legislation ... will protect our kids and improve our public health," Obama, who has admitted his own battles to quit smoking, said after the House vote. "So I look forward to signing it." Under the plan, the FDA for the first time will monitor and inspect tobacco companies. Cigarette makers must pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fees, register with the agency, and provide a list of all the products they make. The measure also calls for larger warnings on cigarette packages, restricts vending machine sales, bans most flavored products and further curbs print advertisements targeting children. The FDA also will have final say over new products and marketing claims such as "light" and "low tar."
Health advocates backed the plan, saying it would reduce smoking, prevent disease and lower soaring healthcare costs.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, whose helped lead the effort, said FDA oversight will rein in an industry known for aggressive marketing efforts. "We are today at the last gasp of the tobacco industry's efforts to protect their profits at the expense of the health and lives of the American people and to get children to take up this habit," Waxman said.
With the exception of Altria Group Inc's Philip Morris unit, the largest U.S. cigarette maker, tobacco companies opposed the plan, saying it would hamper their ability to bring new, safer products to market. Regulation of the tobacco industry until now has been cobbled together by states, court rulings and other U.S. agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission. Much of the authority would now be in the FDA's hands.
Last month, a U.S. appeals court found that cigarette companies lied for decades about the dangers of smoking and ordered them to launch advertisements highlighting the risks.
Imagem de William Klein
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