Legal Issues Related to Implementing FDA Regulation of Tobacco Products

Federal regulation of tobacco products will re-shape the legal, judicial and regulatory environment for tobacco prevention and control. Beyond the direct impact of the federal regulation itself, this transformation will play out in as-yet-unknown ways in multiple settings beyond the Food and Drug Administration. This presentation will focus on the new law's possible effects in two of these areas. First, it will examine the law's likely impact on tobacco litigation, with some legal cases explicitly preserved by the language of the legislation, with the fate of other cases unclear, and with the tobacco industry itself expected to file numerous new cases to impede effective implementation of the law. Second, the presentation will identify and discuss important new state and local policy options that the law opens for controlling tobacco sales and marketing, including possible restrictions on pricing practices, product displays and advertising.