House Puts End to Spending on Tobacco Research
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WASHINGTON — Virtually all money for tobacco research was eliminated in an Agriculture Department spending bill approved Friday by the House.
The $67.9-billion bill, which includes funding for the Food and Drug Administration, passed on a 278-127 vote. The Senate has yet to complete its version.
The department is spending $3.7 million on tobacco research this year. The proposed spending cutback would cover the 1995 budget year, which starts Oct. 1.
The only exception to the research ban would be for studies of pure scientific interest to botanists and genetic researchers. More is known about tobacco genetics than any other plant. Because of that it can be used to develop genetically engineered drugs.
Other anti-smoking measures in the bill include a continued ban on using government money to promote tobacco sales abroad, and a ban on smoking in clinics where poor parents and infants receive food from the government.
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