The FDA would have no choice in banning tobacco products if the FDA had to make a ruling on it.
We would then have a whole new class of criminals by the mere stroke of a pen. Can you imagine the enormity of trying to police such a class of "new" criminals? Everyone one from the growers (then called dealers) to the importers (then called smugglers) to the end consumers (then called users).
Heck, maybe these politicians want another Boston Tea Party, 3rd millennium style. Then they could impose Marshall law and all sorts of other cool stuff. [/sarcasm]
Since PM seems to be OK with FDA regulation, only one possibility of what's going on behind the scenes makes sense to me.
PM, the antis, and the states are all in this together. Remember, PM has a lock on the market--over 50% of the market I'm pretty sure. I figure that the tobacco industry (PM primarily), the states, and the anti-smoker intdustry are all in it together. Even if only 10% of adult Americans smoker, PM figures it will still have over 50% of the market, the states will still get their money, and the antis will still have a market for their products.