In August, a group of tobacco companies filed a petition for certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking review of a lower court’s holding that the First Amendment does not prohibit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...more
On August 2, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit decided a case addressing Nebraska’s authority to require tribal cigarette manufacturers that are not parties to the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) to comply...more
In late June, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana held that federal law preempts the Montana Attorney General (AG) from removing the cigarette brands of Grand River Enterprises Six Nations, Ltd. (Grand River)...more
In this post, we take a closer look at state tobacco and nicotine product licensing considerations. When approaching state licensing issues, it may be helpful to establish a checklist to help manufacturers, importers,...more
In the first half of 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has continued to ramp up efforts to limit sales of unauthorized electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). We previously reported on FDA’s heightened...more
In August 2023, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia partially vacated a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule that had “deemed” premium cigars subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and...more
The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act, 15 U.S.C. § 375 et seq., is a federal law with two primary objectives: (1) to prevent federal and state tax evasion on tobacco products, and (2) to prevent sales of tobacco...more
A couple of years ago we posted an overview of state licensing and excise tax considerations for tobacco companies. In this post, we take a closer look at state excise tax considerations. When approaching state excise tax...more
We recently discussed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products’ (CTP) strategic plan intended to guide CTP’s activity for the next five years. On the same day, CTP released its annual...more
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently filed new injunction and civil money penalty proceedings against unauthorized, flavored e-liquids and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) manufacturers and...more
Recently, NJOY LLC filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against more than 30 foreign and domestic defendants that manufacture, market, distribute, and sell tobacco products in an...more
In September, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued two new rounds of warning letters to online retailers, manufacturers, and distributors for reportedly selling or distributing unauthorized e-cigarette products....more
Over the last decade, hundreds of localities have passed ordinances restricting or prohibiting the sale of some or all types of tobacco products. Some of these ordinances have been challenged in court, but, in most cases, the...more
Last summer, we wrote about the Iowa Attorney General’s $133 million suit against the tobacco manufacturers that are signatories to the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). Brought in Iowa state court, this suit alleged that...more
Oregon has enacted a new “equity assessment” upon non-signatories to the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). We previously blogged about the bill’s introduction. The law replaces Oregon’s escrow deposit system,...more
On August 9, 2023, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia issued his decision vacating the decision of the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) to “deem” premium cigars covered by FDA’s 2016...more
The proposed rule, if finalized, would impose new manufacturing practice requirements on foreign and domestic manufacturers of finished and bulk tobacco products. On March 10, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA...more
On March 8, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it is proposing a long-awaited rule on so-called “tobacco product manufacturing practices.” Here are some preliminary thoughts on the proposed rule...more
The Oregon Legislature’s 2023 regular session kicked off with a bang for the tobacco industry when House Bill 2128 (HB2128) was introduced at the request of Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum who also happens to the be...more
The Reagan-Udall Foundation, an independent nonprofit created by Congress “to advance the mission of the FDA to modernize medical, veterinary, food, food ingredient, and cosmetic product development, accelerate innovation,...more
On July 5th, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the decision of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “deem” premium cigars subject to the same federal law as other tobacco products like...more
In August 2021, Swisher International Inc. filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking to have the FDA’s Deeming Rule declared invalid. Swisher followed its lawsuit with a petition for injunction to...more
Tobacco manufacturers and distributors have long made refund/rebate payments to retailers for the retailer’s purchase of cigarettes and other tobacco products from the manufacturer, provided the retailer reduces the price of...more
Food/Dietary Supplements - FDA to Hold Public Meeting on Food Standards of Identity – The FDA will hold a public meeting “to give interested persons an opportunity to discuss FDA’s effort to modernize food standards of...more
After standing to one side while vaping hooked a generation of young Americans on nicotine, the Trump Administration has now abruptly decided to try to vaporize youthful vaping by banning candy-like flavorings favored by...more