A Senate committee has postponed consideration of a bill that would put tobacco under Food and Drug Administration regulation.
The bill is being considered despite objections that it's a misguided effort to reduce the dangers of smoking.
It would give the FDA the same authority over cigarettes and other tobacco products that the regulatory agency now has over drugs, food, medical devices and other consumer products.
It had been scheduled to be considered today in the Senate Health Committee, but the vote was postponed by a week because of the Senate's all-night debate on the war in Iraq.
The full Senate is expected to pass the measure even though some lawmakers have said they view any effort to create a safer cigarette as an impossible task.
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