The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was signed into law on June 22, 2009. This act gave the FDA power to regulate the tobacco industry. The following is an update on the new federal restrictions on tobacco product sales and marketing that went into effect on June 22, 2010. To download this as a fact sheet, click here.
From the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
[Signed into law June 22, 2009]
From the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
[Signed into law June 22, 2009]
- Prohibition of “light,” “low,” “mild,” and all similar descriptors in all advertising, labeling and marketing of cigarettes and smokeless products.
- Larger, stronger warning labels required on all smokeless tobacco packages and in all smokeless tobacco product advertisements. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must also publish a new rule requiring stronger warning labels on cigarette packs and advertising, including graphic images, no later than June 22, 2011, with the final rule going into effect 15 months after that.
- The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act directs the FDA to issue a final rule, effective June 22, 2010, to establish the following new restrictions and requirements.
- No cigarette or smokeless tobacco sales to minors (less than age 18). Although such sales have been prohibited by state laws for some time, this is the first time they are prohibited by federal law, and the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act also establishes new federal enforcement efforts, including compliance checks.
- No vending machine sales or self-service displays of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco except in adult-only facilities.
- No sales of cigarettes in packages of fewer than 20 cigarettes. Sales of loose cigarettes or mini packs can increase youth use.
- No branded product tie-ins (e.g., T-shirts with brand names or images) with purchases of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products.
- No branded sponsorships of athletic or cultural events by cigarette or smokeless manufacturers, distributors or retailers.
- No free samples of any tobacco products, except limited free samples of smokeless tobacco products allowed in temporary adult-only facilities in certain restricted situations.
- No new restrictions on outdoor cigarette or smokeless advertising near schools. The original final rule to be issued June 22, 2010 called for a total ban on any outdoor cigarette or smokeless ads within 1000 feet of schools or playgrounds. But the new law directed FDA to make changes to this provision prior to the publication of the Final Rule if FDA determined that any modifications were appropriate in light of governing case law regarding the First Amendment and permissible restrictions on commercial speech. On March 19, 2010, FDA published the Final Rule without any provision relating to outdoor ads near schools or playgrounds, at all, but issued a related notice and request for comments on that same topic. See http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/ProtectingKidsfromTobacco/RegsRestrictingSale/default.htm.
- All cigarette and smokeless advertising must be black text on white background only – with all audio ads only spoken words with no sound effects or music – except in adult-only facilities and in magazines with less than 15% or fewer than 2 million youth readers. After enactment, members of the tobacco industry brought legal challenges against many of the provisions in the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act and the Final Rule. To date, all of the provisions scheduled to go into effect on June 22, 2010 have been upheld by the courts except that a Kentucky U.S. District Court ruled that this provision requiring certain ads to be only black text on white background violates the First Amendment’s protections for commercial speech. That ruling has been appealed by the federal government; but the provision will not go into effect unless the appeal is successful.
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