WASHINGTON — Congress this morning sent to the White House legislation that gives the federal government vast new powers to regulate and restrict cigarettes, the single largest cause of preventable death.

President Barack Obama has given strong support to the measure that for the first time gives the Food and Drug Administration authority to examine what goes into tobacco products, ban those ingredients deemed dangerous to health and limit sales.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chief sponsor of the House version, called regulation "the single most important thing that we can do right now to curb this deadly toll."

More than 400,000 people die every year from tobacco-related diseases, according to government figures. About 45 million U.S. adults are smokers, though the prevalence has fallen since the U.S. surgeon general's warning 45 years ago that tobacco causes lung cancer.

The House pass the bill today and the Senate pasted it Thursday.

The measure puts special emphasis on dissuading some of the 3,500 young people who every day smoke a cigarette for the first time. It prohibits use of candied and flavored cigarettes popular among young people and severely restricts advertisements and promotions targeted toward youth. It bans use of words such as "mild" or "light" that give the impression that the brand is safer.

The FDA would also require tobacco companies to reveal the contents of their products and they'd have to seek approval for marketing new products. It gives the FDA power to order changes to ingredients to protect public health.