A bill in Congress to empower the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tobacco products isn't dead, but action on the measure is unlikely to occur  before early 2008, the Winston-Salem Journal reported Dec. 13.

The measure is opposed by most in the tobacco industry and the Bush administration -- including the head of the FDA -- but has attracted 54 cosponsors in the Senate and 200 in the House. A vote in the full Senate is expected early next year, according to a spokesperson for bill sponsor Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.). The House measure is still in committee, but a vote at the committee level also is expected in early 2008.

Still, passage of the bill is by no means ensured. Tobacco-state lawmaker Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) has threatened to filibuster the Senate bill to prevent a vote, so legislation backers would need at least 60 votes to prevent that. A veto by President George Bush also is a strong possibility.