On March 22, four Kentucky tobacco farmers filed a state class action lawsuit against Universal Leaf North America, a subsidiary of Universal Corporation, the world’s leading leaf tobacco merchant and processor.
Distributors — Have Your Suppliers Complied with the FDA’s Registration and Filing Requirements?
Posted in FDA
Since the 2009 passage of the Tobacco Control Act, the Troutman Sanders Tobacco Practice has been helping our clients comply with the many new Food & Drug Administration requirements for tobacco companies. These requirements include FDA registration and other filing requirements.
More recently, the Troutman Sanders Tobacco Practice has been working around the clock to help our clients file their “substantial equivalence” reports due on March 22nd. This requires reports to the FDA regarding products that were first sold after February 2007, or products that have changed since then.
PACT Act Reporting Requirements
Posted in Legislation, State Regulatory
The PACT Act, passed by Congress last year, is recognized by many in the tobacco industry as imposing new requirements for Internet sales, including generally prohibiting the use of the U.S. mail to deliver cigarettes and smokeless tobacco and imposing new age-verification requirements to stop remote sales to minors.
New Model NPM Legislation Moving Through Arkansas Legislature
Posted in Legislation, State Regulatory
Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, who is co-chair of the National Association of Attorneys General Tobacco Committee, is supporting legislation in that state that would impose significant new requirements for nonparticipating manufacturers to the Master Settlement Agreement. We understand that the legislation may be used as a model in other states.
FDA Considers Ban on Menthol Cigarettes
Posted in FDA
On March 18, the FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) suggested that the FDA consider banning menthol cigarettes. TPSAC argued that menthol makes people more likely to start smoking and less likely to quit.
Supreme Court Denies Appeal in MSA Challenge
Posted in Significant Cases
On March 7th, the United States Supreme Court denied a challenge by a tobacco manufacturer and smoker to the 1998 tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.
Smokeshop Magazine’s February Edition of Regulation Focus
Posted in Articles and Publications, FDA
In the latest edition of Smokeshop magazine, our Tobacco Practice is featured in their Regulation Focus section titled, “FDA’s New Product Approval Process: An Innovation Chill?”
Lorillard and RJR Lawsuit
Posted in Significant Cases
On Friday, two of the nation’s three largest tobacco companies filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Food and Drug Administration and its commissioner, the Department of Health and Human Services and its secretary, and the director of the federal Center for Tobacco Products.
PM Buyout Lawsuit
Posted in Significant Cases
Last week, Philip Morris filed a federal lawsuit challenging the United States Department of Agriculture’s (“USDA”) calculation of tobacco buyout assessments under the Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004 (“FETRA”) for fiscal years 2011-2014.