Public Health Law

FDA Issues Rule Restricting Access and Marketing of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco Products to Youth

publichealthlawcenter — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:55:07 +0000

The Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule containing broad federal requirements designed to curb the access of tobacco products to children and adolescents. The rule, published March 19, 2010, takes effect June 22, 2010, and has the force and effect of law. Among other things, the rule prohibits the sale of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to people younger than 18, prohibits the sale of cigarette packages with fewer than 20 cigarettes, prohibits distribution of free samples of cigarettes, restricts distribution of free samples of smokeless tobacco, and prohibits tobacco brand name sponsorship of any athletic, musical or other social or cultural events.

Read the FDA rule restricting access and marketing of tobacco products to youth.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Read the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium’s factsheets on FDA regulation of tobacco.
tclconline.org

Filed under: FDA Regulation, Federal Regulation, News Tagged: Center for Tobacco Products, smokeless tobacco, tobacco ban, tobacco industry regulation

FDA Names Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee

publichealthlawcenter — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:13:02 +0000

The Food and Drug Administration has taken a critical step in implementing its new authority to regulate tobacco products by appointing a group of highly qualified scientists and health professionals to its Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. The panel appointed today includes some of the world’s foremost scientific authorities on tobacco products and marketing – experts who will provide advice, information and recommendations to the FDA on a wide range of tobacco-related issues.

Read the roster of the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee.
fda.gov

Read the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium’s factsheets about the federal regulation of tobacco.
tclconline.org

Filed under: FDA Regulation, Federal Regulation, News Tagged: Center for Tobacco Products, tobacco industry regulation, Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee

Upcoming webinar: Smoke-free Multi-Housing and the Law: Benefits and Legal Strategies

publichealthlawcenter — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:35:08 +0000

March 22, 2010
12-1:30 p.m.

The Volunteer Lawyers Network and the Minnesota Legal Services Coalition will present a free webinar on “Smoke-free Multi-Housing and the Law: Benefits and Legal Strategies,” featuring Public Health Law Center Staff Attorney Warren Ortland and Carrissa Duke from the Association for Nonsmokers – Minnesota. 1.0 CLE credits applied for.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: CLE, secondhand smoke, smoke-free housing, webinar

Historic International Tobacco Treaty Now Five Years Old

publichealthlawcenter — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:30:50 +0000

On Feb. 26, the first global public health treaty – the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) – celebrates its fifth year, marking an important milestone in public health history. The FCTC has had a remarkable global impact to date, elevating the importance of tobacco control as a global health and political issue, stimulating policy change at the domestic level, and bringing new public and private resources into the field. To date, 168 out of 195 eligible countries have joined the treaty through ratification or accession, and more are set to join. The United States has yet to ratify this landmark treaty.

Read more about the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Filed under: News Tagged: Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, international tobacco control, World Health Organization

Public Health Law in the Trenches: United States v. Philip Morris

publichealthlawcenter — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:35:04 +0000

Presented by Sharon Eubanks
Friday, Feb. 19

Watch Sharon Eubanks, lead counsel representing the Department of Justice in the historic tobacco case, U.S. v. Philip Morris USA, et al, speak at William Mitchell College of Law as part of the Public Health Law Center’s series “Conversations in Public Health.”

Filed under: Blog Tagged: court decision, federal lawsuit, tobacco industry regulation, tobacco litigation

U.S., Public Health Groups and Big Tobacco Ask Supreme Court to Review Racketeering Case

publichealthlawcenter — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:33:06 +0000

The U.S. government, six public health groups, and three cigarette manufacturers have separately petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review a racketeering verdict against major tobacco companies that was upheld by an appeals court last year. The health groups are intervenors in the case, making them formal parties to the lawsuit. The request for the high court to consider the case stems from a landmark ruling in 2006 in which the cigarette manufacturers were found guilty of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). In that ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler found that major cigarette manufacturers had violated civil racketeering laws, defrauded the American people by lying for decades about the health risks of smoking and aggressively marketed their deadly products to children. Judge Kessler ruled that the penalties she could impose on the tobacco companies were limited by a controversial appeals court ruling that restricted the remedies she could impose under the civil RICO law to “forward-looking” remedies aimed at future racketeering violations. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld Judge Kessler’s ruling on May 22, 2009.

In their petitions, both the government and the six public health group intervenors are asking the Supreme Court to overturn the part of the U.S. v. Philip Morris decision that restricted the penalties Judge Kessler could order. They argue that RICO is not limited to remedies to restrain future violations, but instead allows courts to fashion remedies that fully redress past violations, including through the disgorgement of billions of dollars in ill-gotten gains by the tobacco industry, as well as equitable remedies such as smoking cessation and public education programs. The tobacco companies (Altria Group Inc.’s Philip Morris USA unit, Lorillard Inc., and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco) are asking the Court to overturn the verdict. If the Supreme Court agrees to take this case, millions – even billions – of dollars in equitable penalties could be at stake.

Read the Department of Justice’s petition PDF, 142 Kb
scotusblog.com

Read the public health intervenors’ petition PDF, 143 Kb
scotusblog.com

Read Philip Morris’s petition PDF, 252 Kb
scotusblog.com

Read the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium’s series of publications, The Verdict Is in, on this historic Department of Justice litigation
tclconline.org

Filed under: Federal Regulation, News Tagged: court decision, federal lawsuit, tobacco industry regulation, tobacco litigation

New Report Suggests Cigarette Tax Hikes Could Fill State Budget Gaps

publichealthlawcenter — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:37:12 +0000

According to a new report released by a coalition of public health organizations, cash-strapped states could raise more than $9 billion annually by increasing tobacco taxes by $1 a pack, while also reducing smoking and improving health. A national poll released with the report found that 67 percent of voters support a $1 tobacco tax increase, and prefer that tax over other revenue-raising options.

Read “Tobacco Taxes: A Win-Win-Win for Cash-Strapped States.”
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Read related materials about tobacco taxation.
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Filed under: News Tagged: smoking & health, tobacco taxes

Public Health Law Center announces new publication

publichealthlawcenter — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:34:19 +0000

Stumped at the Supermarket: Making Sense of Nutrition Rating Systems

The Public Health Law Center is pleased to announce the release of our latest publication, a white paper on regulatory issues involving front-of-package labels and other nutrition ratings systems. This paper, “Stumped at the Supermarket: Making Sense of Nutrition Rating Systems,” was written by staff attorney Kate Armstrong. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s National Policy & Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity (NPLAN) commissioned the Public Health Law Center to write this research paper. NPLAN provides legal research, model policies, training and technical assistance to advocates and leaders in the childhood obesity prevention field.

A bewildering number of nutrition labeling and rating systems are used in markets in the U.S. and abroad – so many, in fact, that one might wonder whether these labels and rating systems are informing our food purchasing decisions or simply confusing us more about what to eat. Are they helping us shop smarter or causing information overload?

Our paper describes in detail the many front-of-package and grocery shelf nutrition rating systems used nationally and internationally. We analyze the challenges, including federal regulatory issues, with multiple systems. We conclude with recommendations on research needed to gauge the efficacy of nutrition rating systems and their potential to improve Americans’ diets.

Kate was invited to submit her Public Health Law Center white paper to a committee at the prestigious Institute of Medicine, which is conducting a national study of Front-of-Package Nutrition Ratings and Symbols.

» Read Stumped at the Supermarket: Making Sense of Nutrition Rating Systems PDF, 1.53 Mb

Filed under: Our Publications Tagged: nutrition labels, obesity, public policy

CDC Releases Report on State Preemption of Local Smoke-free Laws

publichealthlawcenter — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:07:11 +0000

Substantial progress has been made toward the nation’s 2010 health goal of eliminating the number of states that preempt local smoking restrictions, according to a recent CDC report. From December 31, 2004 to December 31, 2009, the number of states that preempt local smoking restrictions in government worksites, private-sector worksites, or restaurants decreased from 19 to 12. This reduction in the number of states that preempt local smoke-free laws will allow communities to pass and enforce local laws that establish a higher standard of health protection than that provided by state law.

Read the CDC’s MMWR report, “State Preemption of Local Smoke-free Laws in Government Work Sites, Private Work Sites and Restaurants – United States, 2005-2009.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Filed under: News Tagged: smoke-free law, smoking & health

FDA Appeals Electronic Cigarette Ruling

publichealthlawcenter — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:53:08 +0000

The Food and Drug Administration is appealing a federal judge’s ruling that the agency doesn’t have the authority to regulate electronic cigarettes. The FDA asked the federal appeals court in Washington to stay an order that prevented the agency from blocking electronic cigarettes from entering the country. In its appeal, the FDA said it does have authority to regulate some products containing nicotine as though they are drugs and devices, such as nicotine patches and nicotine lollipops.

Read the decision in Smoking Everywhere, Inc. v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, et al. PDF, 1.15 Mb
Tobacco Law Center

Filed under: FDA Regulation, Federal Regulation, News Tagged: court decision, e-cigarettes, tobacco industry regulation