NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Cigarette maker Altria Group Inc. spent more than $3 million in the first quarter to lobby on a congressional proposal to regulate tobacco products and other issues, according to a disclosure report.

Altria, which makes the top-selling Marlboro cigarettes, supports a Food and Drug Administration proposal that would authorize the agency to begin regulating tobacco products. Last month, a House committee approved legislation that would allow the FDA to reduce nicotine levels and require larger and more informative health warnings on cigarette packs.

The company, which recently spun off its international division, also lobbied Congress and State Department on several other issues, including: consumer product safety; Medicare; research and development tax credit; smoking prevention and cigarette trafficking; free trade; and a proposed federal shield law to protect reporters from being forced to reveal their sources.

In the January-to-March period, the Richmond, Va.-based company lobbied Congress and the State Department, according to the report filed with the House clerk's office April 18.