In response to the e-cigarette epidemic and the vaping-related lung injury crisis, many local governments, states, and tribes have established sales prohibitions and emergency bans, and taken other actions removing these harmful products from the marketplace. Though federal action to do the same has moved at a near-glacial pace, federal regulators are now taking small steps to remove some e-cigarettes from the marketplace.  Unfortunately, getting these products off the shelves is not the end of the public health response. That’s because once they can no longer be legally sold, they are likely to be considered hazardous waste under federal law. Therefore, retailers must comply with hazardous waste law when getting rid of unsold products when sales restrictions make their inventory unsellable.

On January 2, 2020, in response to two years of skyrocketing rates of youth use of e-cigarettes, the FDA took a small step to restrict e-cigarette sales. The FDA issued a guidance prohibiting all sales of cartridge-based e-cigarettes that are not flavored with menthol or tobacco, after a 30 day sell-off period.

Shortly before the end of 2019, the Senate voted to approve a $1.4 trillion dollar spending package. Part of that package included amendments to the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (“Tobacco Control Act”), which raise the minimum legal sales age for tobacco products from 18 to 21.

Under federal law, able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) can receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for only 3 months in a 36-month period unless they meet specific work requirements. States can request waivers for areas with unemployment rates above 10% or that are deemed to lack sufficient jobs. Congress allows these waivers because economic conditions may hinder SNAP recipients’ ability to secure enough work hours to meet work requirements.

The Public Health Law Center held a reception at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis on August 27, 2019, during the National Conference on Tobacco or Health. At the event, Doug Blanke and Joelle Lester presented the 2019 Game Changer Award to four of our closest partners at the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, who have led the fight against menthol tobacco products.

Decades of scientific research unequivocally established that cigarette smoking causes numerous diseases and conditions, including lung and other cancers, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, erectile dysfunction, and premature/low birth-weight babies.

For many years, the Public Health Law Center has provided commercial tobacco control work under the name of its program, the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium. During this time, as our programs and priorities have grown and evolved, there has been some confusion in the public health community about our two names. To better represent how we do our work in 2019, we have decided to retire the Consortium name and brand.

Yesterday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it is taking the first concrete step towards addressing the youth e-cigarette epidemic by issuing a draft guidance outlining changes in its enforcement of premarket review.

The Public Health Law Center and the American Lung Association in California were awarded a $6 million, 5-year contract by the California Tobacco Control Program (CTCP) at the California Department of Health to support commercial tobacco control professionals and advocates in their work to end the commercial tobacco epidemic in California. The contract for the Statewide Policy Implementation and Development Coordination Center begins July 1, 2019.

Statement of the Public Health Law Center, the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, and The Center for Black Health and Equity (formerly NAATPN):