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(Updates with further detail of tobacco bill's progress, beginning in the 19th paragraph.)
Jump to full article: The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition, 2009-06-04
Author: Corey Boles Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Intro: The issue of whether the Food and Drug Administration should regulate the tobacco industry has divided four lawmakers not along party lines but on the positions cigarette companies located in their states have taken on the matter.
Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb, both Democrats of Virginia, indicated this week they planned to support the legislation, which for the first time would create a federal regulatory framework for the tobacco industry.
So too has Virginia-based Altria Group Inc. (MO), owner of Philip Morris and the largest player in the U.S. cigarette market. The company has broken with its rivals and become a strong supporter of FDA regulation of the industry.
Sens. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Kay Hagan, D-N.C., on the other hand, are opposed to the legislation and are trying to drag out the Senate's extension of the bill for as long as possible. The Tar Heel state's biggest tobacco companies - R.J. Reynolds, a unit of Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), and Lorillard Inc. (LO) - are opposed to the FDA legislation.
The Senate began debating the bill Tuesday, but due to Burr and Hagan's delaying tactics, it may not conclude consideration of it until next week. The two are unlikely to be able to stop the bill but can effectively force a delay of its passage.
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