President Obama and the U.S. Congress have delivered a truly historic victory for America's children and health by enacting a new law granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate tobacco products. President Obama signed the legislation into law on June 22, 2009.

On June 11, 2009, the U.S. Senate voted 79 to 17 to approve the bill, H.R. 1256/S. 982, known as the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

On June 12, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 307 to 97 to approve the identical bill.

The bill was sponsored by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and U.S. Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Todd Platts (R-PA).

Members of Congress and public health organizations have worked for more than a decade to grant the FDA authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco products. This new law will end the special protection the tobacco industry has enjoyed for far too long and protect our nation’s children and health instead. It represents the strongest action the federal government has ever taken to reduce tobacco use, the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.

Tobacco use kills more than 400,000 Americans and costs the nation $96 billion in health care bills each year. Every day, another 1,200 lives are lost and more than 1,000 kids become new regular smokers.

Yet, until now, tobacco products have escaped the FDA’s common-sense regulations that apply to other consumer products, such as food, drugs and even lipstick. The new law will:

The legislation was endorsed by more than 1,000 public health, faith and other organizations across the country. And it is supported by 70 percent of American voters.