Thomas Briant

On Dec. 2, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products Director Mitch Zeller presented a live webinar on FDA tobacco regulations. The presentation focused on premarket tobacco applications (PMTA), the new graphic cigarette health warnings and synthetic nicotine products, and gave insights into what might await the category in the new…

Recent peer-reviewed studies show that banning flavored tobacco products or flavored vaping products has significant negative public health impacts policymakers must consider in deciding the proper scope of regulation. Several studies indicate banning all flavored tobacco products actually increases the number of young people who smoke cigarettes. The first study, published in June 2020 in…

On Aug. 18, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued an order further postponing the effective date of the FDA’s graphic cigarette health warning rule by another 90 days from July 13, 2022, to Oct. 11, 2022. In addition, the order also states that “any other obligation to comply with a…

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is under a court order to review and either authorize or decline to authorize — by Sept. 9, 2021 — the marketing of new tobacco products for which manufacturers submitted Pre-Market Tobacco Applications (PMTAs). But with numerous applications waiting for review, FDA is unlikely to meet the deadline. Background…

The term ‘modified risk tobacco products’ came onto the scene after regulators became concerned that tobacco products marketed using words like “light” or “mild” might give consumers the impression that the products posed less of a health risk than other tobacco products. Consequently, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, enacted into law in…

A newly proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) would require corrective statements about cigarettes to be posted by manufacturers at the point of sale (POS) in stores where cigarettes are sold. Background In 1999, the U.S. government sued the major cigarette manufacturers, asserting claims under several federal statutes for conduct by the…

With the new year comes new challenges for retailers that sell tobacco products. Just like in 2020, key issues for retailers will encompass local, state and federal legislative and regulatory actions. Local Flavor Ban Ordinances In February 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made most flavored cartridge- and pod-type vaping products illegal. Then, in…

With the New Year comes new challenges for retailers that sell tobacco products. Just like in 2020, key issues for retailers will encompass local, state and federal legislative and regulatory actions. Local Flavor Ban Ordinances In February 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made most flavored cartridge- and pod-type vaping products illegal. Then, in…

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set Sept. 9, 2020, as the deadline for manufacturers to submit a substantial equivalence application (SE) or a pre-market tobacco application (PMTA) for “deemed” tobacco products introduced into the marketplace between Feb. 15, 2007, and Aug. 8, 2016. Tobacco products subject to the PMTA requirements include cigars (except “premium…

As previously reported in CStore Decisions, the U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), submitted letters on March 30, 2020, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit with a request for a 120-day extension of…