Tobacco Products

Landmark legislation that would give the federal government the power to regulate cigarettes and other tobacco products passed an early hurdle Wednesday. The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the bill, 38 to 12. The measure would allow the Food and Drug Administration to review new tobacco products before they go on sale, limit advertising and restrict sales to youths. It also would enable the agency to regulate levels of tar, nicotine and other ingredients.

The American Medical Assn. voted today to oppose cigarette advertising in newspapers, magazines and on billboards and to support legislation banning such displays. The AMA's governing body, the 371-member House of Delegates, officially went on record opposing tobacco advertising by voice vote. The vote was overwhelming but not unanimous. It is now the official policy of the AMA to introduce and support legislation calling for a total ban on all tobacco advertising, officials said.

The government has begun a criminal investigation of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. after the company imported herbicide-tainted tobacco and then exported tainted cigarettes to Japan, federal authorities said today. The U.S. investigation is particularly embarrassing for Tokyo and Washington, as well as the company, because the Japanese government, under pressure from the United States, agreed only last year to open its markets to U.S.-made tobacco products.

The 1996 Olympics will be smoke-free, including a ban not only on smoking but on advertising of tobacco products, officials said Friday. Smoking will be forbidden at all Olympic venues "and promotion of tobacco products will be prohibited, including distribution of free samples, coupons and other promotional items," the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games said. The policy, the committee said, is consistent with International Olympic Committee ideals of good health and a clean environment.

Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona said Tuesday that he supports the banning of tobacco products -- the first time that the government's top doctor and public health advocate has made such a strong statement about the contentious subject. Testifying at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on smokeless tobacco and "reduced risk" tobacco products, Carmona was asked whether he would "support the abolition of all tobacco products." "I would at this point, yes," he replied.

The tobacco bill signed into law by President Obama on June 22 is a compromise that acknowledges a few hard political facts: More than 43 million Americans remain addicted to the nicotine in tobacco (indeed, 70% of smokers say they wish they could quit, and 40% try yearly). Taxes on the sale of tobacco products are a major source of revenue for states.

 A federal judge in Sacramento has sentenced a Los Angeles tobacco distributor to 15 months in prison and ordered him to pay $880,000 to the state of California for his participation in a scheme to defraud the state of more than $800,000 in excise taxes. Jawid Wahidi, 34, the owner of LMS International, was sentenced Wednesday. He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on May 10 to charges of mail fraud. According to U.S. Atty. Benjamin B. Wagner, Wahidi filed statements with the California Board of Equalization that  "dramatically under-reported the amount of tobacco he sold in the state.

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to ban giveaways of cigarettes and other tobacco products on city-owned property. The measure, which must be approved by the mayor, prohibits the distribution of free tobacco and tobacco-related products on public streets, sidewalks and other city property. Councilman Marvin Braude, who originally introduced the motion in 1986, said at least 25 other U.S. cities have bans on cigarette giveaways, including Boston and Minneapolis.