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On June 22, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Family
Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The Act
gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the authority
to regulate the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of
tobacco products.
The
Act:
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Targets
illegal sales of tobacco to kids. |
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Imposes
advertising and promotion restrictions including
package labeling, point of sale advertising, and
bans sponsorships of sport and entertainment events. |
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Bans
cigarettes that have a candy or fruit-flavor. |
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Restricts
vending machine and self-service displays to adult-only-facilities. |
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Requires
disclosure of tobacco product ingredients and health-effect
research conducted by companies. |
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Limits
the free distribution of tobacco products to specific
restricted situations. |
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Gives
the FDA the authority to require changes in products
that would render them less harmful. |
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Requires
retailers to verify the age of individuals for all
over-the-counter sales. |
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Prohibits
companies from making health claims about “reduced-risk”
when the claims are not backed by scientific proof. |
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Prohibits using terms like “light,”
“mild,” and “low tar” on
tobacco packages or advertisements. |
The
act does not allow the FDA to ban cigarettes or smokeless
tobacco or the total elimination of nicotine from products.
Nor is the FDA authorized to raise the legal age of
use from age 18 to an older age.
Sources:
FDA, 2009, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, 2009, and
the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium, July 2009
Additional
Information About the FDA Act
The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration website offers the
latest information and updates about the Family Smoking
Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. To access
the information go to:
http://www.fda.gov/tobaccoproducts/default.htm
Effective
dates for various parts of the Act can be found at:
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/fda/effective_dates.html
For
a complete listing of H.R. 1256/S. 982 go to the FDA
website copy of the law
(PDF 450 KB)
Information
About Utah State Tobacco Laws
For
information about current state laws related to tobacco
visitors can go to the tobacco laws section of
the web site: Utah Tobacco
Laws .
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