We have previously reported on the proliferation of tobacco product flavor bans imposed by localities and subsequent legal challenges throughout the U.S. See Oregon Court Upholds Local Tobacco Product Flavor Ban; Troutman Pepper Tobacco Team Featured in Vapor Voice Post on Ninth Circuit’s Holding that L.A. County’s Flavor Ban Is Not Preempted; Philadelphia
PACT Act Basics: Five Things You Should Do if ATF Comes Knocking
“Hi, we’re with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and we’d like to take a look at your tobacco product sales invoices, shipping records, and PACT Act reports.”Continue Reading PACT Act Basics: Five Things You Should Do if ATF Comes Knocking
Troutman Pepper Tobacco + Nicotine Team to Attend FDLI 2024 Annual Conference
The Food and Drug Law Institute’s 2024 Annual Conference is happening May 15-16, 2024! Agustin Rodriguez of the Troutman Pepper Tobacco + Nicotine team will be participating in a panel discussion on “State Regulation of Nicotine Products: Evaluating Flavor Bans and Registration Lists.” Agustin’s panel will discuss actions being taken at the state and local
What’s at Stake for the Premium Cigar Industry as DC Circuit Considers FDA Appeal?
In August 2023, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia partially vacated a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule that had “deemed” premium cigars subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), known as the “Deeming Rule.” This decision exempted premium cigars from FDA’s tobacco product authorities. In September 2023, however, FDA appealed, and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is currently weighing the matter. So, what would it take for FDA to succeed on appeal, and what is at stake for the premium cigar industry?Continue Reading What’s at Stake for the Premium Cigar Industry as DC Circuit Considers FDA Appeal?
FDA Launches Legally Marketed Tobacco Products Database
FDA recently announced the launch of a new searchable database containing almost 17,000 tobacco products that may be legally marketed in the U.S. The database provides information on each tobacco product including product names, company names, categories (e.g., cigarette, roll-your-own, e-cigarette, cigar, heated tobacco product), sub-categories (e.g., e- components, filler, leaf wrap), source of U.S. marketing authority (e.g., marketing granted order, substantially equivalent order, found exempt order), and the date of FDA’s action on the tobacco products. FDA indicates that it plans to update the database on a monthly basis. This database is helpful to industry members seeking more transparency from FDA about which products are authorized for sale in the U.S. The database is not, however, without limitations.Continue Reading FDA Launches Legally Marketed Tobacco Products Database
Troutman Pepper Tobacco + Nicotine Team to Attend TMA 2024 Annual Meeting and Conference
Mark your calendars for the TMA 2024 Annual Meeting and Conference! The Troutman Pepper Tobacco + Nicotine team will be in attendance, with our very own Bryan Haynes participating in a panel discussion, “Taking Stock: Discussions on Legal Challenges and What Comes Next.” Bryan will discuss court actions challenging the Center for Tobacco Products’ decisions
Advocacy Organizations Sue FDA Over Delay in Menthol Cigarette Ban
On April 2, three advocacy organizations filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking an order directing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) to promulgate its already-proposed rule banning menthol as a characterizing flavor in combustible cigarettes. The case comes as FDA has missed several internal deadlines for promulgating a final rule on the topic.Continue Reading Advocacy Organizations Sue FDA Over Delay in Menthol Cigarette Ban
Massachusetts High Court Upholds Local Tobacco Sales Ban
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) recently upheld, in a unanimous decision, the town of Brookline’s ordinance banning the sale of tobacco and e-cigarette products to anyone born after Jan. 1, 2000 (the Tobacco Sales Ban). Brookline is the first U.S. locality to impose a tobacco sales ban based on a specific date.Continue Reading Massachusetts High Court Upholds Local Tobacco Sales Ban
US Supreme Court Declines to Hear Challenge to California’s Flavor Ban
Over the past decade, at least five states and hundreds of localities have passed, or attempted to pass, laws banning flavored tobacco products. To date, litigants have brought many challenges to these laws, often arguing that such bans are preempted under the federal Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA). This argument, however, has largely proven unsuccessful — a trend that continued in January when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s challenge to California’s ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products.Continue Reading US Supreme Court Declines to Hear Challenge to California’s Flavor Ban
More States Consider Establishing Vapor Product Directories
We recently reported that several state legislatures are considering bills to establish vapor product directories this year—namely Florida, Indiana, Missouri, and Virginia. Throughout January and early February, similar bills have been introduced in Arizona, Hawaii, Iowa, Nebraska, New York, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia. Additionally, a bill in Oklahoma would update the state’s existing directory framework to be consistent with the proposals of these recent bills. The directories would allow states to prohibit the sale of vapor products that are not authorized by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) or subject to a pending premarket application. Like the proposals discussed in our previous coverage, these bills are intended to reduce the proliferation of illicit vapor products. Continue Reading More States Consider Establishing Vapor Product Directories