US President Barack Obama signed a bill into law today granting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sweeping regulatory power over cigarettes and tobacco products.

President Obama said, "the law will force companies to clearly and publicly acknowledge the harmful and deadly effects of the products they sell." The FDA now has the power to ban added flavourings and demand stark warning labels on tobacco products. President Obama, who finds it hard himself to quit the habit, said the law is necessary to protect young people against the dangers of smoking. He accused the tobacco industry of targeting young people.

The new law bans cigarettes and tobacco advertising within a 300 metre radius of schools and playgrounds and bans all tobacco sponsorship of sport and entertainment events. It also places strict limits on tobacco advertising in publications with a significant teenage readership and bans the use of words such as 'mild' and 'light' in adverts as they seem to indicate that some tobacco products are safer.

Tobacco companies are required to disclose the ingredients in their products to be FDA and the organisation can demand changes to protect public health. The bill was welcomed by numerous organisations including the American Cancer Society but was furiously opposed by the tobacco lobby. It is the strictest tobacco legislation ever passed in the US.