Big Tobacco Restricted Anew

The die-hard smokers still puffing as the U.S. becoming less and less accommodating to them have a new setback coming to them: cigarettes with graphic warnings and no flavoring. A landmark bill passed overwhelmingly by the Senate on Thursday gives the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate what Ted Kennedy called "the most deadly of all consumer products." The new authority will seriously limit the chemicals in cigarettes as well as advertising. The FDA is also expected to study menthol and consider banning it altogether. The recent movement to crack down on smoking has produced results, according to The New York Times. In 1995 about 25 percent of adults smoked, in 2005 the number had gone down to 21 percent.