Tobacco bill moving toward final Senate vote

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration power to regulate cigarettes moved closer to final passage in the Senate after clearing a procedural hurdle on Wednesday.

The Senate voted 67-30 to limit debate on legislation that would allow the FDA to oversee the packaging, marketing and manufacturing of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Democrats, who control the Senate, say they have enough votes to win final passage. A final vote is expected on Thursday, said Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd.

Senators may have to work out differences with a similar bill that has cleared the U.S. House of Representatives, according to Dodd. A final version could go to President Obama "hopefully in the next few days" to be signed into law, Dodd added. Obama, who has admitted his own struggles to quit smoking, supports the bill.

The tobacco industry is divided. Altria Group Inc's Philip Morris unit, the nation's largest cigarette maker, supports the bill while some smaller rivals, such Reynolds American Inc's R.J. Reynolds Tobacco unit and Lorillard Inc's Lorillard Tobacco Co, oppose it.

Fees on cigarette companies to pay for a new FDA tobacco division, and other requirements, will be burdensome for smaller companies, say opponents of the measure.

Cigarette makers would have to register with the FDA under the legislation and provide the agency with a list of all the products they make.

Hundreds of health advocacy groups support the measure as a way to curb smoking, which kills 400,000 Americans each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Richard Cowan; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Tim Dobbyn)