Nonparticipating manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors that do business in Oklahoma will be subject to substantial additional requirements if House Bill 2363 currently pending in the Oklahoma State Legislature is enacted.   The bill has passed both houses of the Legislature and appears to be headed toward approval.

The television arm of the Washington Post, Post TV, recently ran a news report on electronic cigarettes titled “E-cigs: The battle happening on nicotine’s next front”. The report discusses the recent popularity of e-cigarettes, and speaks of concerns regarding both the impending regulation of the product by the FDA as well as the restrictions that are already beginning to be imposed by major cities on the product. 

The Troutman Sanders tobacco practice is excited to participate in the upcoming 2014 Tobacco Merchants Association (“TMA”) Annual Meeting held May 19-22 in Williamsburg, Virginia.  The year’s theme is, “Evidence-Based Science, Electronic Cigarettes, & Tobacco Harm Reduction”. Cigarette company executives and other representatives from both the tobacco and e-cigarette industries will also be present at the conference.

Many observers assume the FDA will deem little cigars to be within its jurisdictional purview once the so-called “deeming regulations” are issued.  Given the physical similarity to cigarettes, one would also assume that the FDA will require reporting of harmful and potentially harmful constituents (HPHCs) on the products. 

On April 7, 2014, legislators from California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa and Massachusetts wrote joint letters to the head of the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) and the Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”).  The legislators’ letters urged the FTC and FDA to take action against manufacturers of electronic cigarettes that purportedly make false or unsubstantiated claims in their advertising and marketing.

In December 2013, the New York City Council approved and Mayor Bloomberg signed into law a bill to ban the use of electronic cigarettes in public places.  The ban was added to the City’s 2002 Smoke-Free Air Act (the “SFAA”).  The SFAA was initially enacted to ban the use of cigarettes in public places, and various sources indicate that the purpose of the SFAA is to protect the public from involuntary exposure to second-hand smoke. 

An article by the Troutman Sanders tobacco practice appears in the February issue of Smokeshop Magazine.  The article, titled “E-Cigs at the Forefront,” discusses the growing momentum for state-level regulation of tobacco product alternatives, with e-cigarettes attracting the most attention. The full text of the article can be found here.