Tobacco Facts.

Sen. Edward Kennedy has introduced legislation similar to a bill already passed by the House that gives the federal government the power to regulate tobacco products.

Kennedy, D-Mass., offered his measure Tuesday night without the fanfare of a press conference that accompanied the introduction of similar bills in previous years. Kennedy has been battling brain cancer.

Kennedy’s bill sets the stage for Senate action on tobacco legislation this month or in June. The measure is expected to pass with bipartisan support.

The chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Kennedy has scheduled a panel hearing for next Tuesday to consider his bill.

The House last month overwhelmingly passed a bill, sponsored by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., giving the federal Food and Drug Administration authority over how tobacco products are made, advertised and sold.

President Barack Obama supports FDA regulation of tobacco.

If there are any differences between the Waxman and Kennedy bills, they would be worked out in a House-Senate conference committee.

John Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society Action Network, said in a statement today that with Kennedy’s bill, “the nation is one step closer to ending Big Tobacco’s unfettered access to children in America.”

“We call on the Senate to pass the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act as soon as possible and send it to the president’s desk for his signature,” Seffrin said.

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