How will the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act Impact the Electronic Cigarette Industry?
SUMMARY: Almost a decade after the Supreme Court determined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not have jurisdiction over tobacco products in Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. v. FDA, 153 F.3d 155 (2000), on June 12, 2009, Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA). The FSPTCA gives FDA authority to, among other things, control cigarette packaging, regulate the manufacture, distribution, advertising, promotion, sale and use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. The new law will not, however, permit the agency to ban tobacco products or nicotine. President Barack Obama quickly declared the FSPTCA “a long time coming” and signed the bill into law on June 22, 2009. Th e FSPTCA promises to bring dramatic changes to the tobacco industry; but its effect on the newer smokeless “electronic” or “e-cigarette” industry is less clear. Please see full article below for more information.