US: Anti-smoking bill dies

The US Senate has killed off a bill which would have enabled the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tobacco as a drug, and given federal authorities the right severely to circumscribe the advertising of tobacco products. The defeat for the bill is being widely seen as a victory for the tobacco industry, but it is also a victory for those campaigners who have defended the right to advertise a product which is not illegal. President Clinton has vowed that “this battle is far from over.”