RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration is working to lift the smokescreen clouding the ingredients used in cigarettes and other tobacco products.
In June, tobacco companies must tell the FDA their formulas for the first time, just as drugmakers have for decades. Manufacturers also will have to turn over any studies they've done on the effects of the ingredients.
Altria Richmond-based Altria Group Inc. has supported what it is has called "tough but fair regulation." Altria is the parent company of the nation's largest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA.
But its chief rivals oppose the law. They're both based in North Carolina: Reynolds American and Lorillard. Reynolds American is the parent company of R.J. Reynolds.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV-01-18-10 1144EST
