Over the past two years, at least 15 states have enacted laws requiring manufacturers of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) to certify the status of their federal premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) in...more
7/25/2025
/ Appeals ,
E-Cigarettes ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Protection ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Penalties ,
Preemption ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
State Legislatures ,
Tobacco Regulations
In 2023, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) placed Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians (Twenty-Nine Palms), a federally recognized Indian tribe that sells cigarettes on sovereign reservations...more
7/22/2025
/ Appeals ,
Common Carriers ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
E-Cigarettes ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Judicial Review ,
Native American Issues ,
PACT Act ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Retail Market ,
Shipping ,
Sovereign Immunity ,
State and Local Government ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Tribal Governments
In June, the Appellate Court of Illinois upheld an assessment of over $314 million against Sam’s Club for unpaid county cigarette excise taxes, including a 10% late fee, a 25% penalty, and accrued interest. The assessment...more
7/21/2025
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Appeals ,
Double Taxation ,
Due Process ,
Excise Tax ,
Failure To Pay ,
IL Supreme Court ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Local Taxes ,
Retail Market ,
Retailers ,
State and Local Government ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Assessment ,
Tax Liability ,
Tobacco Regulations
On June 20, the Supreme Court concluded that marketing denial orders (MDOs) issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can be challenged not only by the applicants (typically, the manufacturer or importer of the...more
7/11/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
E-Cigarettes ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food and Drug Administration v RJ Reynolds Vapor Co ,
Judicial Review ,
Manufacturers ,
Marketing ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retailers ,
SCOTUS ,
Tobacco
Effective July 1, Mississippi will require all cigarette and ENDS manufacturers to provide annual certifications and have their products listed on a state directory in order for their products to be sold in the state. The...more
In the first major enforcement action involving the importation of illegal tobacco products by the new administration, and on the heels of the appointment of the new acting director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...more
5/30/2025
/ China ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
E-Cigarettes ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Imports ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Trademarks
Our colleagues recently wrote about 14 memoranda from the new U.S. Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi to Department of Justice (DOJ) employees framing the DOJ’s current policies and enforcement priorities. In a memorandum...more
2/27/2025
/ ATF ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Executive Orders ,
PACT Act ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations
In what appear to be the first restrictions of their kind, the state of California and the city and county of Denver have adopted bans on flavored tobacco products that cover not only products containing tobacco and nicotine,...more
2/13/2025
/ California ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Legislation ,
Public Health ,
Regulation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Vaping
In late January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) withdrew its proposed rules to prohibit menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and all characterizing flavors in cigars. Although either proposal could be...more
2/12/2025
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Health ,
Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Trump Administration
On January 21, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case addressing who may challenge Food and Drug Administration (FDA) marketing denial orders for new tobacco products....more
2/4/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Judicial Authority ,
Marketing ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retail Sales ,
RJ Reynolds ,
SCOTUS ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Control Act (TCA) ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Vaping ,
Venue
Yet again, the premium cigar industry has prevailed in federal court against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FDA appealed a federal district court decision vacating its rule (the Deeming Rule) subjecting premium...more
1/30/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Final Rules ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Litigation ,
Tobacco Regulations
On January 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule that would set a maximum nicotine level in combusted cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products....more
Bryan Haynes, a partner in Troutman Pepper Locke’s Tobacco + Nicotine Practice Group, was quoted in the January 10, 2025 Convenience Store News article, “Retailers Tap Into Pricing & Data to Boost Cigar Sales.”...more
1/14/2025
/ Data Collection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Marketing ,
Pricing ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retail Market ,
Retail Sales ,
Retailers ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations
Throughout 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) endeavored to curb sales of unauthorized electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) in the U.S. In light of persistent demand for flavored ENDS — nearly all of...more
12/27/2024
/ E-Cigarettes ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Food & Drug Regulations ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retail Sales ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Trump Administration ,
Vaping
In the ninth episode of our 12 Days of Regulatory Insights podcast series, Michael Jordan, a member of the firm's Tobacco + Nicotine practice, is joined by colleagues Bryan Haynes and Agustin Rodriguez to delve into the...more
Last month, California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta announced the awardees for the 2024-2025 Tobacco Grant Program, a program spearheaded by the California Department of Justice (DOJ) that aims to support local law...more
A consumer class action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against EVO Brands, LLC and PVG2, LLC, both doing business as Puff Bar. The lawsuit alleges that Puff Bar...more
10/18/2024
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Class Action ,
E-Cigarettes ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Minor Children ,
New York ,
Product Labels ,
Public Health ,
Retail Market ,
Statutory Violations ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
In August, North Carolina-based cigarette importer, King Maker Marketing Inc., challenged a decision by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Customs) that rejected its claims for more than $11 million in drawback duties as...more
In September, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told industry that it would begin enforcing the agency’s cigarette graphic warning rule in December 2025 in an enforcement policy outlined in a short guidance...more
9/30/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Failure To Warn ,
FDA Approval ,
Final Rules ,
First Amendment ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Manufacturers ,
Public Health ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Warning Labels
Earlier this month, 20 Democratic state attorneys general (AG) filed an amicus brief supporting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) marketing denial orders (MDOs) of premarket tobacco applications (PMTAs) for...more
In August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a new proposed rule that would require importers of electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products to provide an FDA-issued submission tracking number (STN)...more
9/17/2024
/ Customs and Border Protection ,
E-Cigarettes ,
FDA Approval ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Importers ,
Imports ,
Life Sciences ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Tracking Systems
In August, a group of tobacco companies filed a petition for certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking review of a lower court’s holding that the First Amendment does not prohibit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...more
8/28/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Advertising ,
FDA Warning Letters ,
First Amendment ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Manufacturers ,
Marketing ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Product Labels ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Authority ,
RJ Reynolds ,
SCOTUS ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Warning Labels ,
Zauderer
In June, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) argued in federal court that the federal Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act requires tribal retailers to obtain state licenses to sell cigarettes on their...more
8/6/2024
/ ATF ,
California ,
Native American Issues ,
PACT Act ,
Retail Sales ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Liability ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Tribal Governments ,
Tribal Lands ,
Tribal Treaty Rights
On August 2, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit decided a case addressing Nebraska’s authority to require tribal cigarette manufacturers that are not parties to the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) to comply...more
In late June, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana held that federal law preempts the Montana Attorney General (AG) from removing the cigarette brands of Grand River Enterprises Six Nations, Ltd. (Grand River)...more
7/19/2024
/ E-Cigarettes ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Manufacturers ,
Montana ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retail Market ,
State Attorneys General ,
Tobacco ,
Tobacco Regulations ,
Vaping