CHICAGO - US leaders took meaningful steps to reduce smoking over the past year, increasing treatment options and giving the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new power to regulate tobacco, a major health group said on Thursday.

"President (Barack) Obama and our leaders in the 111th Congress enacted what will be regarded as the strongest tobacco control policies thus far in American history," Charles Connor, president and chief executive of the American Lung Association, said in a statement.

"While we still have a long way to go, for the first time, the administration and the Congress joined forces to squarely confront the tobacco epidemic."

Obama's landmark healthcare reform plan, symbolically repealed late on Wednesday by the Republican-led House of Representatives, expands access to tobacco cessation treatments, which would be covered by most private health plans in the United States.

The group praised work by the FDA to begin implementing tobacco control legislation, but wanted tougher action on marketing tactics being used by the tobacco industry, including the use of color-coded packaging to suggest their products are less harmful.

The American Lung Association praised the US Department of Health and Human Services' move to make smoking prevention and cessation efforts key elements of the government's health and wellness plans.

The American Lung Association said states continue to raise taxes on cigarettes, but many fail to invest that money in smoking cessation programs.

"Most states are ducking the responsibility to help smokers quit," Connor said.

Reuters

(China Daily 01/21/2011 page11)