Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “Affordable Care Act”) (also known as “ObamaCare”), which became law in 2010, health insurance companies may charge smokers and tobacco users more than those who do not smoke or use tobacco. Specifically, smokers and tobacco users may be charged up to 50 percent more.
Troutman Pepper Locke Tobacco Practice
Maryland Attorney General Questions E-Cigarette Companies
Posted in State Regulatory
Last week, Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler wrote to ten e-cigarette companies raising issues regarding potential nicotine poisoning and purported marketing to minors.
Takeaways from the Vapor World Expo
Posted in Conferences and Events
Earlier this week, the Troutman Sanders tobacco team attended the Vapor World Expo, a trade show for e-cigarettes and vapor products. Along with Bonnie Herzog of Wells Fargo Securities, Bryan Haynes presented on the topic of “Vapors, Myths and Reality.”
Testing E-Cigarettes
Posted in FDA
The FDA’s proposed deeming regulations call for testing of harmful and potentially harmful constituents in electronic cigarettes. Those requirements would not be triggered until three years after the regulations become effective, and in the meantime the FDA presumably would need to establish protocols for e-cigarette testing and a list of constituents to be reported.
Troutman Sanders Tobacco Practice Publishes Article in Smokeshop Magazine on Litigation Over E-Cigarette Marketing
Posted in Articles and Publications
An article by the Troutman Sanders tobacco practice appears in the April issue of Smokeshop Magazine. The article, titled “E-Cigarette Marketing: Misleading or Puffery?,” discusses lawsuits filed by plaintiff’s attorneys against e-cigarette companies regarding their marketing practices. The full text of the article can be found here.
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Report from the Food & Drug Law Institute Conference
Posted in Conferences and Events
We attended the two-day Food & Drug Law Institute Conference this week. Three panels focused on FDA regulation of tobacco products, including a deeming regulations panel at which Bryan Haynes presented.
Troutman Sanders Tobacco Practice Quoted on FDA Deeming Regulations
Posted in FDA
The Troutman Sanders tobacco practice has been quoted in two recent articles regarding the FDA’s recent move to extend regulatory oversight to e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and other tobacco products.
The FDA’s New Deeming Regulations — Get Your Comments In!
Posted in FDA
The FDA issued proposed regulations yesterday that would extend the FDA’s regulatory authority under the Tobacco Control Act to all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco. It is important to note that this is a proposal only, and the regulations could become more reasonable or more onerous after a public comment period.
The FDA’s New Deeming Regulations– Preliminary Observations — Electronic Cigarettes
Posted in FDA
FDA’s proposed deeming regulation issued earlier today would cover a variety of products that meet the statutory definition of a “tobacco product,” including electronic cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco. This blog entry discusses three provisions that would apply to the tobacco products “deemed” to be subject to FDA regulation.
The FDA’s New Deeming Regulations — Preliminary Observations — Premarket Review / Substantial Equivalence
Posted in FDA
The FDA’s proposed deeming regulations issued earlier today purport to contain a number of relatively modest proposals for regulation of the newly “deemed” products — generally e-cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco. However, lost in the shuffle of the media commentary thus far is the proposal’s impact on tobacco companies’ ability to market new products, or even to continue to market products that are currently being sold.