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Missouri, the last remaining state in which nonparticipating manufacturers (“NPMs”) can obtain allocable share releases from their escrow payments, has again introduced legislation to repeal the release mechanism. The bill, House Bill 1242, was introduced on January 8, 2014 and has been referred to and is pending before the House Budget Committee.

On February 12, 2014, congressmen from California, Iowa and Vermont sent a joint letter to the Attorneys General in those states, urging them to classify electronic cigarettes as cigarettes under the Master Settlement Agreement (“MSA”).  The MSA was adopted in 1998 and applies to cigarette and roll-your-own tobacco manufacturers.  In the letter, the lawmakers stated that classifying electronic cigarettes as cigarettes would be a “bold step” in the battle against tobacco use. 

In late December, the European Union’s Parliament approved anti-tobacco legislation, and the legislation included regulations governing electronic cigarettes.  Although the European Union has been considering regulating electronic cigarettes for quite some time, the recently-approved legislation is the first rule covering electronic cigarettes at the EU-level.  Prior to the approval of this legislation, electronic cigarettes, if at all, were regulated by each individual government within the European Union.

Another shameless plug for a Troutman Sanders tobacco team publication — we recently published an article in the Food and Drug Law Journal entitled “Compelled Commercial Speech:  the Food and Drug Administration’s Effort to Smoke Out the Tobacco Industry through Graphic Warning Labels.”  The article discusses the court decisions addressing…

In a recent letter to the National Association of Attorneys General (“NAAG”) and in the latest iteration of the Obama Administration’s Unified Regulatory Agenda, the FDA shed some light on the likely content of its “deeming” regulations that will subject additional tobaccco products to regulation under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.  The deeming regulations have been drafted, but are not yet public, pending review by the White House Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866.

On August 2, 2013, the Smuggled Tobacco Prevention Act (“STOP Act”) was reintroduced in the 113th Congress in the form of H.R. 2990 by United States Congressman Lloyd Doggett of Texas.  H.R. 2990 has been referred to and currently awaiting review by the House Committee on Ways and Means.

The STOP Act has been introduced in various forms since 2004, and the legislation is designed to enhance law enforcement’s ability to combat illegal tobacco trafficking.  The most recent previous version of the STOP Act, H.R. 3186, was introduced in 2011 during the 112th Congress.  Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means, neither chamber of Congress took action on the 2011 version of the bill after it was introduced.  

Texas enacted a fee on certain tobacco products manufactured by non-participating tobacco products manufacturers (“NPM”), that goes into effect on September 1, 2013. Tex. H.B. 3536 passed the legislature on June 14, 2013. The fee is imposed on the sale, use, consumption, or distribution in Texas of NPM cigarettes and…