ASCO Welcomes Tobacco Bill

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is backinglegislation (H.R. 1097) that would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate tobacco products. The legislationexplicitly states that nicotine should be regulated as a drug, and tobaccoproducts as drug delivery devices. The legislation also gives the FDA theauthority to regulate tobacco product advertising and promotion. Reps. GregGanske (R-Iowa), John Dingell (D-Mich), and Henry Waxman (D-Calif) are theprimary sponsors.

"We greatly appreciate the consistent leadership Reps.Ganske, Dingell, and Waxman provide on behalf of the federal regulation oftobacco products," said an ASCO statement. "Smoking accounts for atleast 30% of all cancer deaths, is a major cause of heart disease, and isassociated with conditions ranging from colds and gastric ulcers to chronicbronchitis, emphysema, and cerebrovascular disease."