President Barack Obama has signed into law a bill that gives the US government broad regulatory power over cigarettes and other tobacco products. Obama, who is an occasional smoker, said the law would curb the ability of tobacco companies to market their products to children.

President Obama: “Today, thanks to the work of Democrats and Republicans, healthcare and consumer advocates, the decades-long effort to protect our children from the harmful effects of tobacco has emerged victorious. Today, change has come to Washington. This legislation will not ban all tobacco products, and it will allow adults to make their own choices. But it will also ban tobacco advertising within a thousand feet of schools and playgrounds. It will curb the ability of tobacco companies to market products to our children by using appealing flavors. It will force these companies to more clearly and publicly acknowledge the harmful and deadly effects of the products they sell.”

Some public health officials have criticized the legislation, which was crafted in part by the nation’s leading cigarette company, Philip Morris. Michael Siegel is a professor at Boston University School of Public Health.

Michael Siegel: “This is a huge victory for big tobacco. This basically is going to institutionalize cigarettes forever. This is going to give the federal government’s seal of approval to cigarettes. Basically, the FDA is being asked to look the other way. For every other product that the FDA regulates, if it finds that that product is killing people, it takes the product off the market immediately.”