Public Health Leaders Urge FDA to Act on Menthol Cigarettes

On April 12, 2013,  the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium hand-delivered a formal Citizen Petition to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on behalf of nineteen national organizations, urging the FDA to prohibit the use of menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes.  In 2009, Congress passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act which, among other things, prohibited fruity and candy-like additives as “characterizing flavors” in cigarettes.  Because tobacco manufacturers use flavors, herbs and spices to mask the harshness of tobacco and attract new generations of underage smokers, the flavor ban was an important step to prevent youth smoking.  The Tobacco Control Act, however, made one exception to this flavor ban, deferring action on the most popular of all flavors – menthol – and directing the FDA to decide whether continued sale of menthol cigarettes is “appropriate for public health.”

As our Citizen Petition points out, menthol cigarettes are the source of addiction for nearly half of all teen smokers; menthol increases the palatability of smoking, especially among youth and members of racial and ethnic populations; and menthol also increases the difficulty of quitting smoking.  In fact, prohibiting menthol in cigarettes is perhaps the single most powerful measure readily available to the FDA to improve America’s health. 

• To read our Citizen Petition, click here.

• To read Highlights of our Citizen Petition, click here.

“Who’s Your Nanny?  Choice, Paternalism and Public Health in the Age of Personal Responsibility”

 Public Health Law Center Director Doug Blanke and law professors Lindsay F. Wiley and Micah L. Berman co-authored an article about the nanny state in the just-released supplement to the Journal of Law Medicine and Ethics generated by the October public health law conference.   The article, “Who’s Your Nanny?  Choice, Paternalism and Public Health in the Age of Personal Responsibility,” explores the forces behind the cultural and political resonance of concerns about public health paternalism, "personal responsibility," and the "nanny state" and attempts to outlines a potential path forward from here.  Check out the article here.

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Check out our latest resource!

Minnesota Healthy Beverages in Healthcare Resources

The Public Health Law Center, in partnership with Health Care Without Harm and the Minnesota Cancer Alliance has created a series of resources designed to inform and support efforts to promote healthy beverage choices and reduce consumption of unhealthy products within workplace settings in Minnesota, with a special focus on healthcare settings.

These resources are designed to support healthcare organizations in taking up the call to reduce and eliminate sugary drinks, and promote healthy offerings, within their campuses.Click here to review the resources.

Check out our latest publications!

		Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act Litigation Update (2013).  Guide to recent and pending litigation that challenges or implicates the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
		Other Tobacco Products:  A Select Bibliography of Recent Studies (2013).  A listing of several recent studies of five of these products:  dissolvables, electronic cigarettes, little cigars, snus and water pipes (hookahs).
		Three New Tobacco Policy Publications by Public Health Law Center staff. The November 2012 supplement to the peer-reviewed American Journal of Preventive Medicine features three tobacco policy-related articles written by Public Health Law Center staff members Mike Freiberg, Brooke Nunn, Warren Ortland, and Susan Weisman.
		The Effect of the 2012 Federal Transportation Reauthorization Bill on State and Local Regulation of Roll Your Own Tobacco Retailers (2012).  Fact sheet describing implications of 2012 federal policy that classifies as tobacco manufacturers retailers who make RYO tobacco machines available to consumers.
		Strategies to Combat Illicit Tobacco Trade (2012).  Law synopsis providing overview of illicit tobacco trade within and across U.S. borders, including suggestions on how state and local governments, as well as health organizations, can contribute to the fight against it.
		Freedom of Information Act and the FDA (2012).  Information on how the public health community can use Freedom of Information Act requests to maximize its impact on the federal regulation of tobacco.
		Citizen Petitions: An Underutilized Tool in Tobacco Regulation (2012).  Overview of how tobacco control tobacco control advocates can use citizen petitions to influence the FDA's regulation of tobacco.
		Healthy Vending and the Randolph Sheppard Act (2012) Federal, state, and local governments can increase access to healthy foods and beverages for their residents by requiring all vending service providers to ensure healthier options are sold in vending machines on public property. Legally blind vendors can be particularly influential in what is sold in vending facilities located on government property because of the Randolph Sheppard Act.
		Access to Healthy Food:  Challenges and Opportunities (2012) This document provides public health advocates, policymakers, and community organizers with an overview of key policy and legal strategies being pursued to reduce or prevent obesity by increasing access to healthy food.
		Cause and Effect:  Tobacco Marketing Increases Youth Tobacco Use. (2012) A compilation of key excerpts from the 2012 Surgeon General's Report, Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young People, including policy options that can help reduce the amount and impact of tobacco marketing where much of the tobacco industry's marketing occurs: retail establishments where tobacco products are sold.

Upcoming Webinars!

"Beyond Cigarettes: Federal Regulation of Other Tobacco Products"

May 21, 2013 / 12 noon - 1: 30 p.m. CDT

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 granted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, smokeless tobacco and any other tobacco products that the FDA "deems" to be within its authority. So far, the FDA hasn't issued a "deeming" regulation to assert jurisdiction over other tobacco products, meaning that products like e-cigarettes, hookah, little cigars and dissolvables are completely unregulated at the federal level. State and local governments have had varying levels of success in regulating these products. This webinar will discuss the potential for FDA regulation and what public health professionals and advocates can do to press the FDA to exercise its authority over all tobacco products to protect public health.

Presenters: Desmond Jenson, Staff Attorney, Tobacco Control Legal Consortium and Ann Boonn, Policy Research Manager, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids; Moderator: Joelle Lester, Staff Attorney, Tobacco Control Legal Consortium

For registration information, click here.

"You Don't Say?  Tobacco & the First Amendment"

June 18, 2013 / 12:00-1:30 p.m. CDT

Decades ago, the U.S. Supreme Court held that freedom of speech stops at the right to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater.  But does the tobacco industry have the right to basically say "Smoke!" to the American public?

The tobacco industry often challenges tobacco control laws and regulations on the grounds that such measures violate its First Amendment right to freedom of speech, and interfere with its ability to communicate information about its products to consumers.  We often think about the First Amendment in terms of protecting the right to talk about one’s political or religious views, or engage in artistic expression.  The text of the First Amendment does not say anything about marketing or advertising.  So how did we get to a place where commercial speech, including tobacco marketing, is given substantial First Amendment protection?

In this webinar, our speakers will provide an overview of the evolving commercial speech doctrine and explain the different tests that courts apply to laws regulating commercial speech.  They will highlight First Amendment challenges to tobacco control laws and policies, and discuss the potential impact of recent court rulings on the future of tobacco regulation.

Moderator:  Kate Armstrong, Staff Attorney, Tobacco Control Legal Consortium.  Presenters:  Ilana Knopf, JD, Director, Center for Public Health & Tobacco Policy, New England Law | Boston; Ted Mermin, J.D., M.Ed., Executive Director, Public Good

For registration information, click here.

"The Tobacco Control Act Four Years Later: Living Up to its Promise?"

June 24, 2013 / 12-1:30 p.m. CDT

June 22, 2013, marks the fourth anniversary of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009, which granted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate tobacco products to benefit public health. Since the Act became law, the FDA has established the Center for Tobacco Products and has begun the work of regulating tobacco products and enforcing those regulations.  In this webinar, speakers will reflect on the past four years of federal tobacco regulation, including successes, disappointments, and hopes for the future.

Presenters:  Greg Connolly, Harvard University School of Public Health;  Susan Kansagra, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; Joelle Lester, Tobacco Control Legal Consortium; Erika Sward, American Lung Association.  Moderator: Maggie Mahoney, Tobacco Control Legal Consortium

For registration information, click here.