Tobacco News

The government has already jacked up taxes on cigarettes and forced smokers into the cold, but yesterday it lost a battle in its ongoing effort to scare and annoy smokers into quitting rather than just banning cigarettes. The FDA’s plan to cover half of every cigarette label with disgusting images of rotten teeth and cadavers was derailed when a judge found that forcing tobacco companies to use the labels violates their first amendment rights. Ream more »

A Food and Drug Administration panel Friday said it needs more information before making recommendations about the risks and potential marketing restrictions involving new flavored dissolvable tobacco lozenges.

Opponents of the lozenges say they look like candy and might be eaten by children, encourage nonsmokers to use tobacco, and are used by smokers in tandem with rather than instead of cigarettes.
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Tobacco companies led by Altria Group Inc. and Reynolds American Inc. must get U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to sell products introduced or changed in the past four years, a move that may let the agency keep more addictive items off the market. Products that weren’t commercially available on Feb. 15, 2007, must be submitted for review, the FDA said yesterday in a statement. Items that aren’t “substantially equivalent” to those already for sale on that date or raise public health questions may be banned or withdrawn from sale, the agency said.
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The FDA issued a final rule containing a broad set of federal requirements designed to significantly curb access to and the appeal of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products to children and adolescents in the United States. The new rule, Regulations Restricting the Sale and Distribution of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco to Protect Children and Adolescents, restricts the sale, distribution, and promotion of these products to make them less accessible and less attractive to kids. Read more

The FDA released May 6^th it’s inspection report of a Tylenol Plant in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, noting that the conditions at a Johnson & Johnson owned plant were so bad, legal action might be warranted. Read more