The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the delay of enforcement of certain requirements under the interim final rule (IFR) establishing the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program. Under the new guidance, USDA will delay enforcement of the requirement for labs to be registered by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the requirement that producers use a DEA-registered reverse distributor or law enforcement to dispose of non-compliant plants under certain circumstances. While lab tests can be conducted by labs that are not yet registered with DEA, the labs must still meet all the other requirements in the IFR.
Continue Reading USDA and DEA Announce Delay of Hemp Rule Enforcement in Respect of Labs, Hot-Hemp Disposal
FDA Alert: Tobacco Age 21 Effective Immediately Per FDA
FDA announced yesterday via an update to its website that it is now illegal for a retailer to sell any tobacco product – including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes – to anyone under 21. This announcement (the day after Christmas) follows the signing into law on December 20, 2019 of legislation amending the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to raise the federal minimum age of sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 years.
Continue Reading FDA Alert: Tobacco Age 21 Effective Immediately Per FDA
Troutman Sanders Welcomes Agustin Rodriguez
Agustin Rodriguez
Agustin is Counsel in the firm’s Government Investigations, Compliance and Enforcement practice. He leverages his extensive background to assist clients in navigating federal, state and local regulation of tobacco, alcohol and other consumer products. He has unique experience advising on global supply chain risk management issues, specifically in Asia and Latin America.
Continue Reading Troutman Sanders Welcomes Agustin Rodriguez
FTC Issues Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco Reports
The Federal Trade Commission recently issued its Cigarette Report and Smokeless Tobacco Report summarizing 2016 data about the tobacco industry. Important observations from the Cigarette Report include:
- The number of cigarettes that the largest cigarette companies in the United States sold to wholesalers and retailers nationwide declined from 244.2 billion in 2015 to 240.5 billion in 2016;
- The amount spent on cigarette advertising and promotion increased from $8.30 billion in 2015 to $8.71 billion in 2016; and
- Price discounts paid to cigarette retailers ($5.81 billion) and wholesalers ($1.44 billion) were the two largest expenditure categories in 2016. Combined spending on price discounts increased from $6.95 billion in 2015 to $7.25 billion in 2016, accounting for 83.2 percent of industry spending.
Continue Reading FTC Issues Cigarette and Smokeless Tobacco Reports