The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
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View the print ad.On June 22, 2009, President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act into law. The bill, which was held up in Congress for more than 10 years because of fierce opposition by the tobacco industry, for the first time gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate the manufacture, marketing, and sale of tobacco products.
Tobacco kills more than 440,000 Americans each year, causes nearly 90 percent of lung cancer deaths, and is responsible for nearly one-third of all cancers. The tobacco industry spends nearly $13 billion a year – $34 million each day – to mislead the public about its harmful products; to market their products aggressively to addict new, young smokers; and to keep current users from quitting. Each day, 3,900 children try smoking for the first time, and 1,000 become daily smokers.
Despite the fatal harm tobacco products cause, they have historically been one of the least regulated consumer products. Forty-five years after the Surgeon General’s report found that tobacco smoke was first found to be a health hazard, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act has the potential to break a deadly cycle and protect the nation’s children from the industry’s aggressive and deceitful tactics.
Major provisions of the bill, some of which are already in the implementation process, include:
- a ban on the manufacture and sale of candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes (implemented September 2009)
- a ban on the use of terms such as “light” “mild” or “low-tar” in marketing and packaging cigarettes (implemented June 2010)
- larger warning labels on smokeless tobacco products (implemented June 2010)
- for the first time, cigarette and smokeless tobacco sales to minors (those under age 18) will be prohibited by federal law (implemented June 2010)
- a ban all tobacco-brand sponsorships of sports and entertainment events (implemented June 2010)
- a ban virtually all free tobacco samples and giveaways of non-tobacco items, such as hats and T-shirts, with the purchase of tobacco (implemented June 2010)
- a prohibition on the sale of cigarettes in packs of less than 20. This will eliminate so-called “kiddie packs” that make cigarettes more affordable and appealing to kids. (implemented June 2010)
Given its track record, the tobacco industry is unlikely to comply willingly or fully with the spirit of the law. Indeed, just two months after the law was signed, several tobacco companies filed a lawsuit seeking to block several key provisions from taking effect. The
Society and ACS CAN are working with partners in the public health community to counter the industry’s litigation, just one of many fronts ACS CAN intends to fully engage in to ensure timely and effective implementation of the new law.
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