Cite as: 505 U. S. 504 (1992)
Opinion of Blackmun, J.
plurality relegates this fact to a footnote, the continued vitality of § 2 is significant, particularly in light of the Court's reliance on the same statement of purpose for its earlier conclusion that the 1965 Act does not pre-empt state common-law damages actions. See ante, at 519 (concluding that Congress' expressed intent to avoid diverse, nonuniform, and confusing regulations "most naturally refers to positive enactments by [state legislatures and federal agencies], not to common-law damages actions").
Finally, there is absolutely no suggestion in the legislative history that Congress intended to leave plaintiffs who were injured as a result of cigarette manufacturers' unlawful conduct without any alternative remedies; yet that is the regrettable effect of the ruling today that many state common-law damages claims are pre-empted. The Court in the past has hesitated to find pre-emption where federal law provides no comparable remedy. See Rabin, A Sociolegal History of the Tobacco Tort Litigation, 44 Stan. L. Rev. 853, 869 (1992) (noting the "rather strong tradition of federal deference to competing state interests in compensating injury victims"). Indeed, in Silkwood, the Court took note of "Congress' failure to provide any federal remedy" for injured persons, and stated that it was "difficult to believe that Congress would, without comment, remove all means of judicial recourse for those injured by illegal conduct." 464 U. S., at 251. See also id., at 263 (Blackmun, J., dissenting) ("[I]t is inconceivable that Congress intended to leave victims with no remedy at all").
Unlike other federal statutes where Congress has eased the bite of pre-emption by establishing "comprehensive" civil enforcement schemes, see, e. g., Ingersoll-Rand Co. v. Mc-Clendon, 498 U. S. 133, 144-145 (1990) (discussing § 502(a) of ERISA), the Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act is barren of alternative remedies. The Act merely empowers the Federal Trade Commission to regulate unfair or deceptive advertising practices (15 U. S. C. § 1336), establishes minimal
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