United States: Market data & legal analysis of the nicotine sector

8th May 2024: US - Louisiana: House Bill 970, which would exempt nicotine pouches from the vapour product and alternative nicotine product directory, has passed the House and is now in the Senate, where it has gone through the second reading.
6th May 2024: US - Oregon: The Oregon Court of Appeals has upheld a Washington County ordinance banning all flavoured tobacco sales. The ordinance was approved in 2022, but it was not enforced because a circuit court judge overturned it. Circuit judge Andrew Erwin wrote that prohibiting the sale of flavoured tobacco must come from the state, not the county. The county appealed the judge’s decision, and the Court of Appeals found that the county is not preempted by state law. Businesses will be inspected each year to make sure they are complying with the ordinance.
2nd May 2024: US - California: Attorney general Rob Bonta has announced that the California Department of Justice is now accepting proposals for the 2024-2025 Tobacco Grant Program, which aims to reduce the illegal sale of tobacco products by providing approximately $28.5m in grant funding to eligible local agencies. The programme aims to reduce childhood addiction to tobacco products by supporting local partners who enforce the statewide retail flavour ban and similar local ordinances, and prosecute and penalise retailers who sell or market tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21.
29th April 2024: US - Federal: According to health and human services secretary Xavier Becerra on Friday (26th April), the Biden administration has delayed its decision over whether to impose a ban on menthol cigarettes: “This rule has garnered historic attention and the public comment period has yielded an immense amount of feedback, including from various elements of the civil rights and criminal justice movement. It’s clear that there are still more conversations to have, and that will take significantly more time.”
18th April 2024: US - Hawaii: Honolulu mayor Rick Blangiardi has signed Bill 1 banning the sale of herbal cigarettes to anyone under 21 years old. It will require posting a sign on or near vending machines selling the products that bears the statement: “The sale of herbal cigarettes to persons under 21 is prohibited”. The bill says: “Herbal cigarettes are made of herbs such as damiana, ginseng, catnip, and mint.” Honolulu is one of the first localities that specifically limits the sale of herbal cigarettes to under-21s. It is a city-county with a total population of 1m.
11th April 2024: US - Ohio: A coalition of 14 cities in Ohio has filed a lawsuit challenging the state law that prevents cities and counties from enacting tobacco regulations that are stricter than the state’s. The plaintiffs claim the law violates Ohio’s constitution, specifically a line that says cities “have the authority to exercise all powers of local self-government and to adopt and enforce within their limits such local police, sanitary and other similar regulations, as are not in conflict with general laws”. The pre-emption law was passed by the state’s General Assembly as part of its budget proposal, and then vetoed for a second time by governor Mike DeWine before the General Assembly voted to override the veto in January. The case seeks a temporary injunction to keep the ban from going into effect on 24th April.
11th April 2024: US - Virginia: House Bill (HB) 1099 has been signed by the governor. It redefines “cigarette” for state cigarette tax purposes to include “cigarettes intended to be heated”. HB 1099 also subjects such heated tobacco (HT) consumables to an excise tax of $0.0225 per stick from 1st July 2024.
10th April 2024: US - Alabama: House Bill (HB) 438 has been introduced, which would provide a definition for heated tobacco products and establish a tax for them. Accordingly, from 1st October 2024 until 30th September 2027, for all heated tobacco products, the tax on a single-use consumable unit would be $0.17. From 1st October 2027 the tax would be $0.0085 per single-use consumable unit, and from 1st October 2029 the tax would be $0.005 per single-use consumable unit.
8th April 2024: US - Federal: The US House Oversight and Accountability Committee has announced a hearing that will examine the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with committee members questioning FDA commissioner Robert Califf. The hearing “will examine the Oversight Committee’s ongoing investigations into the FDA’s response to several issues, including the regulation of tobacco and nicotine products”. The hearing is scheduled for 11th April, and will be streamed live on the committee’s website. Last year the committee announced that it was investigating the FDA Center for Tobacco Products.
8th April 2024: US - Federal: On 4th April 2024, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the issuance of 119 warning letters to, and the filing of 41 civil money penalty complaints against, bricks-and-mortar retailers that engaged in the under-age sale of various flavours of Zyn nicotine pouches between October 2023 and February 2024. The FDA has also issued warning letters to three online retailers for the sale of unauthorised, flavoured Zyn nicotine pouches, including Espressino, Black Cherry, Lemon Spritz, and Cucumber Lime. “Although currently available data do not show that youth use of nicotine pouches has increased, FDA remains concerned about any tobacco product that may be appealing to youth and we will continue to closely monitor youth use of these products,” said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products.
4th April 2024: US - Vermont: Governor Phil Scott has vetoed S 18, which would have banned the sale of flavoured tobacco products, including menthol, because he thinks it’s impractical considering the products could still be bought online or in neighbouring states. He further wrote: “To be clear, I too feel we have an obligation to protect our children, but it must be balanced in such a way that we honor the rights and freedoms of adults to make decisions about their individual lives.” The American Heart Association opposed the governor’s decision to veto the bill saying that “failing to pass this legislation means Big Tobacco continues to hook young people into a lifetime of addiction”.

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