12 Days of Regulatory Insights: Day 9 - Trends in the Tobacco Industry — Regulatory Oversight Podcast
2022 Significant Developments in the Tobacco Industry and What to Expect in 2023 (Part Two) - Regulatory Oversight Podcast
Importers of smoking tobacco products, particularly cigarettes, are increasingly saving millions in federal excise taxes by employing a refund mechanism known as the “drawback.”...more
Employers are facing a surge in class action lawsuits challenging health plan premium surcharges imposed on smokers and other tobacco users, commonly referred to as “smoker surcharges.” Earlier this year Bass Pro Shops agreed...more
On August 21, 2025, NJOY, LLC (NJOY), a subsidiary of Altria Group, Inc., sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), alleging that the agency has unlawfully delayed rendering a decision on supervisory review of its...more
We recently wrote about a federal case here and here involving key issues related to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) authority to enforce the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act)...more
Several new lawsuits have been filed recently alleging that employers violated HIPAA’s non-discrimination rule by charging higher health insurance premiums to employees who use tobacco products. ...more
In early August, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that the civil money penalty (CMP) provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) for tobacco products, 21 U.S.C. § 333(f)(9), is...more
Does the recent decision in a federal district court in Texas, finding that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco civil money penalty authority is unconstitutional, mean the end of the federal agency bringing...more
Recently, companies have seen a spate of class action lawsuits challenging the legality of tobacco cessation wellness programs and related tobacco surcharges imposed by their employer-sponsored health benefit plans....more
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
On June 30, 2025, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law the FY 2026 state budget (the “FY 2026 budget”), totaling $58.8 billion (see our prior alert New Jersey Enacts FY 2026 Budget: Key Takeaways). The FY 2026 budget...more
In mid-January, a bipartisan coalition of nine state attorneys general, as well as the Washington, D.C., attorney general, announced a coordinated effort to curb illicit electronic cigarette sales. The attorneys general of...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
The May Monthly Minute brings you up-to-date on mental health parity enforcement relief, as well as smoker surcharge and prohibited transaction litigation. Nonenforcement of 2024 Mental Health Parity Regulations - Earlier...more
In a recent case pending in Hawaii state court, a husband and wife sued a tobacco company defendant for various claims related to its manufacturing and marketing of tobacco cigarettes, including strict products liability,...more
We previously wrote about this case last January, when Iowans for Alternatives to Smoking & Tobacco, Inc., Global Source Distribution, LLC, and others filed a complaint and motion for a preliminary injunction in federal...more
Given the continued challenges in policing the burgeoning ENDS marketplace, as previously discussed in Part I of this article, in mid-2024 FDA and DOJ announced the establishment of a federal multi-agency task force to combat...more
On April 2, 2025, the Supreme Court unanimously held that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lawfully denied marketing authorization for certain flavored e-liquids used in electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS),...more
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
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
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
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
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the marketing of 20 Zyn nicotine pouches, marking the first time nicotine pouches have received such authorization. This decision came through the premarket...more
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
On Monday, a federal judge from the Eastern District of Texas, Judge J. Campbell Barker, ruled that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) exceeded its authority under the Tobacco Control Act by requiring cigarette...more
A bipartisan group of ten AGs announced separate, coordinated efforts to take regulatory and enforcement action against companies allegedly importing, distributing, selling, and marketing flavored disposable e-cigarettes....more