Category — News & Updates

The Troutman Sanders Tobacco Team will be presenting at the Tobacco Merchants Association Annual Meeting and All-Industry Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia on May 16th.

Ashley Taylor will present on “Promotions in Rhode Island & New York.”  Bryan Haynes will participate in a panel entitled “Deeming Regulations — A Conversation,” which pertains to the Food and Drug Administration’s anticipated regulation that would deem additional tobacco products (such as cigars, e-cigarettes and pipe tobacco) subject to FDA’s authority under the Tobacco Control Act.

We look forward to seeing our friends at the conference.

For questions and/or comments, please contact Bryan Haynes, Troutman Sanders Tobacco Law Team Leader, at 804.697.1420 or by email.

On April 22, 2013, the United States Supreme Court denied a petition for writ of certiorari in a First Amendment challenge to the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act’s graphic warning label requirement.  The law requires that cigarette packages display graphic warning labels covering 20 to 50 percent of the product packaging. [Read more →]

On April 5, 2013, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington held that King Mountain Tobacco Company is not exempt from making escrow payments.  King Mountain filed a complaint against the Attorney General of Washington in April 2011 claiming that it is not required to make escrow payments pursuant to Washington state law. [Read more →]

In March 2013, the Supreme Court of Tennessee held, in a 3-2 decision, that the State of Tennessee lacks personal jurisdiction over NV Sumatra Tobacco Trading Company, an Indonesian cigarette manufacturer. [Read more →]

Last month, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York held that three Indian smoke shops are required to pay over $10 million in taxes to New York City for trafficking untaxed cigarettes. [Read more →]

The Troutman Sanders Tobacco Team is proud to be participating in the Food and Drug Law Institute’s (FDLI) 2013 Annual Conference, the largest and longest-running legal conference for regulated industry. This year’s conference will cover legal, regulatory, policy and economic issues spanning the gamut of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authority, by bringing together experts from industry, Congress, and federal agencies. FDLI’s Annual Conference provides a valuable educational opportunity to discuss and debate emerging issues.

Bryan Haynes will be speaking on a panel titled:  “Tobacco Product Deeming Regulations – Are They Appropriate and What Should They Look Like?”  The panel is described as follows:

FDA has indicated that it will publish proposed deeming regulations this spring to expand its tobacco product jurisdiction to additional tobacco products, such as cigars, pipe tobacco and electronic cigarettes.  This session will address issues related to the implementation of such regulations.  Panelists will cover a range of topics, including new tobacco product requirements, allocation of user fees to new tobacco categories, an appropriate grandfather date for newly-regulated tobacco products, advertising regulations and marketing restrictions, and good manufacturing practices.

2013 FDLI Annual Conference
April 23-24, 2013
Washington, DC
Agenda and Registration Information: http://www.fdli.org/conferences/conference-pages/2013-fdli-annual-conference/overview

For questions and/or comments, please contact Bryan Haynes, Troutman Sanders Tobacco Law Team Leader, at 804.697.1420 or by email.

A bill that would tax and impose additional regulations on electronic cigarettes is moving through the Oklahoma legislature.  Senate Bill 802 has already cleared the Oklahoma Senate and is pending in the Oklahoma House. [Read more →]

On March 4, 2013, the Office of the New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Grand River Enterprises Six Nations, Ltd., Native Wholesale Supply Company Inc., Jerry Montour, Jr. and Kenneth Hill in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.  Grand River, a Canadian-based manufacturer, sells cigarettes throughout the United States.  Native Wholesale Supply, a New York-based distributor, purchases Grand River cigarettes for resale in New York.  The Plaintiff’s four-count complaint alleges violations of: (1) the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act; (2) the PACT Act; and (3) New York Tax Law. [Read more →]

REMINDER:  All employers covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act (”FMLA”) were mandated by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to display the new FMLA poster by March 8, 2013.

Background:  Twenty years ago, President Bill Clinton signed the FMLA into law.  The law, requiring all employers with 50 or more employees to provide job-protected and unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons, ranks as one of the most insidious and complicated federal statutes for employers. Instead of using the FMLA’s 20^th anniversary as a catalyst to provide FMLA clarifications, the DOL instead, issued additional federal regulations that implement statutory changes ensuring the FMLA will continue to be one of the biggest compliance headaches for covered employers. 

Poster Revisions:  The poster revisions include [Read more →]

The new head of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, Mitchell Zeller, started work this week.

Zeller (who is a trained lawyer) has a long record in tobacco control, having led FDA’s failed effort in the mid-1990s to regulate tobacco products.  The U.S. Supreme Court rejected that effort, finding that FDA lacked congressional authority to regulate tobacco products.  Now that FDA has been given congressional authority, Zeller takes over as head of those efforts, assuming the position held by Dr. Lawrence Deyton since the inception of FDA’s tobacco authority.

Between his stints at FDA, Zeller worked with the American Legacy Foundation, which was created in the aftermath of the Master Settlement Agreement and is known for the “Truth” television advertisements designed to curb tobacco use.  Zeller then worked for a pharmaceutical consulting firm, which represents clients that sell nicotine replacement products.

Bryan Haynes of the Troutman Sanders Tobacco Team is quoted on Mr. Zeller’s appointment in articles in the Washington Post and in Law 360.

For questions and/or comments, please contact Bryan Haynes, Troutman Sanders Tobacco Law Team Leader, at 804.697.1420 or by email.