A New Regulatory Challenge: Youth and Tobacco

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, signed by President Obama in June 2009, granted the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) broad regulatory authority over tobacco products. It also explicitly charged the FDA with protecting children and adolescents from the dangers of tobacco use. In drafting the Tobacco Control Act, Congress noted that “[t]he use of tobacco products by the nation's children is a pediatric disease of considerable proportions that results in new generations of tobacco-dependent children and adults.” To begin to address this pattern of addiction and disease, the Tobacco Control Act required the FDA to implement a range of provisions aimed at restricting access to tobacco products by youth, reducing the appeal of tobacco products to youth, and limiting tobacco-product marketing to youth. Our first regulatory initiative banned the manufacture and sale of all cigarettes with characterizing fruit, candy, and clove flavors as of September 22, 2009. Youth and young adults not only use … Address correspondence to Marisa L. Cruz, MD, Center for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug Administration, 9200 Corporate Blvd, Room 100B, Rockville, MD 20850. E-mail: marisa.cruz{at}fda.hhs.gov