The Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published its Final Rule to implement Tobacco 21 (T-21) regulations. These include requirements to verify the age of customers who appear to be under 30 and to eliminate tobacco vending machines in places where individuals under 21 are allowed entry.
According to a statement distributed by the Premium Cigar Association (PCA), since Congress mandated T-21 in December 2019, it has pressured the CTP to complete the regulatory process and avoid the resulting compliance “limbo.”
Read in the magazine (rotate your device for a better reading experience):
During the nearly five years in between, despite not completing the regulatory requirements, the FDA diverted its focus from T-21 to conducting over 1.5 million compliance actions; efforts aimed at limiting consumer choice.
Joshua Habursky, Executive Director of PCA, notes that government data supports the reality that the premium cigar industry is not a significant issue related to youth access or public health in general, making this rule necessary. Hopefully, it will refocus the CTP on the specific issues within its legal mandate.
Following the passage of T-21, the PCA aggressively worked to ensure the CTP recognized that premium cigars and pipe tobacco were not a priority due to their limited appeal to youth and lack of evidence of addiction.
The PCA succeeded in making these products a lower priority in the FDA’s compliance guidance, and many indisputable data points were included in legal arguments that led to the overturning of the FDA’s rule on premium cigars.
The PCA continues to urge the CTP to work with the industry to update its compliance resources, such as the This is Our Watch program. While the CTP has not yet done so, Director Brian King has agreed to engage with retailers and manufacturers at the PCA 2025 trade show in New Orleans.
Updated in 2023, This is Our Watch has not yet incorporated the current T-21 regulations, but according to a statement on its website, the CTP promises to do so.
To read the FDA’s original press release about its Final Rule on Tobacco 21, click here:
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