The President's Cancer Panel advised the Bush administration to endorse legislation to give the Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over tobacco products in order to reduce the cancer rate in the U.S., Reuters reported Aug. 16.

The panel took on both the tobacco and food industry for contributing to cancer in the U.S. and called for more government oversight. The group's report also said insurers should take steps that allow doctors to spend more time counseling patients against tobacco use and encouraging healthy diet and exercise. Also recommended was the elimination of unhealthy foods from federally subsidized school breakfast and lunch programs.

"Ineffective policies, in conjunction with limited regulation of sales and marketing in the food and beverage industry, have spawned a culture that struggles to make healthy choices -- a culture in dire need of change," the report said. "Moreover, the panel was troubled to find that the efforts of those committed to an America less burdened by cancer often are compromised by federal, state, and local policies that have decreased the availability and affordability of healthy foods, limited physical education in schools, and created a built environment that discourages physical activity."

The panel advised President Bush, "This country must not ignore its moral obligation to protect the health of all Americans. We can and must empower individuals to make healthy choices through appropriate policy and legislation, and the panel urges you to use the power of your office toward this lifesaving goal."

The President's Cancer Panel was chaired by Howard University's Dr. LaSalle Leffall.