THE beleaguered tobacco industry faces a massive blow today when US President Bill Clinton is expected to give his approval to drastic new curbs on cigarette marketing, endorsing last year's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruling that nicotine is an addictive drug.

The detailed FDA recommendations had still to be formally cleared by the White House yesterday. But if Mr Clinton holds to the proposals, the clampdown will see a ban on all vending machine sales of cigarettes, curbs on tobacco advertising and the launch of a $150 million (£93.3 million) campaign against under age smoking - paid for by the companies themselves.

The move - potentially the most far reaching against the industry since the 1964 landmark US Government report linking smoking and lung cancer - is part of Mr Clinton's build up to next week's Democratic convention in Chicago. For the first time, it thrusts the smoking issue to the centre of the presidential election campaign.