Hatch against FDA regulating tobacco

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is a well-known, nonsmoking member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and an outspoken opponent of tobacco.

But he is helping fight a bill that would allow the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco.

In fact, this week he was one of only 11 senators who voted against allowing the Senate to proceed to consider the bill — which is now in a slow-moving debate before the Senate as opponents try to delay or kill it.

"Tobacco, which is a proven killer and costs society billions of dollars, is already regulated by the federal government," Hatch said in a written response to Deseret News questions about why he voted against considering the bill.

"But expanding federal authority and saddling the Food and Drug Administration with tobacco regulation is not appropriate. The FDA lacks sufficient funds to carry out its current responsibilities," he said.

Hatch added, "I believe it is irresponsible for Congress to give the FDA more duties without any clear idea of how much money it would cost the agency to carry them out.

"Furthermore, I feel that requiring the FDA to regulate tobacco would put the agency in direct conflict of its mission to protect public health. Tobacco has no health benefits, so it makes no sense to have the FDA regulate a product that is inherently unsafe."

Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., introduced the bill seeking to give the FDA more power to reduce tobacco use by regulating its claims and products.

The bill would create a new unit in the FDA to regulate tobacco marketing and advertising, control the amount of nicotine in tobacco products and ban such claims as "light" and "low tar."

The bill would ban flavor additives, such as fruit flavorings, that critics say target children. It also would require that warnings on cigarette packs be larger.

The House passed a similar bill earlier this year. Although similar bills have passed one house or the other in the past, a final bill has never passed both.

Sen. Richard M. Burr, a Republican from tobacco-state North Carolina, has been leading the fight against the bill.

He also contends that tobacco regulation is beyond the FDA's mission, that the FDA does not have enough money for missions it already has and that the bill would outlaw some products he says may help reduce health risks.

Hatch is not the only tobacco opponent who has decided to fight the bill.

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., opposed the bill in committee. He has been an outspoken opponent of smoking, which he has said led to the death of his parents. He has said in the past he would not vote for any legislation that does not ban cigarettes outright.

E-MAIL: lee@desnews.com