US - Federal: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) has published a new webinar, which provides information on the following topics: the FDA's authority to regulate tobacco products, requirements for tobacco products, processes in place to prevent import of unlawfully marketed tobacco products, and recent import alerts.

US - Federal: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it has increased the civil money penalties that tobacco companies and retailers pay if they are found to violate FDA rules. The changes are part of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, which requires the penalties to adjust with inflation. The penalties are increased by an average of 7.7%.

US - Federal: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released a report on smokeless tobacco sales and marketing expenditures for 2022. In 2020, the FTC began asking manufacturers of smokeless tobacco products sold in the US if they sold tobacco-free nicotine pouches. All manufacturers participating in the report indicated that they or a related company sold tobacco-free nicotine pouches in the US. In total, these companies and their affiliated companies sold 5.63bn synthetic nicotine pouches in 2022 for $1.06bn. Sales of these products have more than doubled since 2020.

US - Louisiana: The Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control has released a list of approved e-сigarettes and alternative nicotine products, known as the V.A.P.E. Directory. The list contains 397 products that are authorised to be sold in Louisiana, including Juul products and Zyn nicotine pouches. From 1st November 2023, only products that are included in the list can be sold in the state. To receive authorisation, products need a marketing order from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or must meet one of several exceptions, which favour products that have been on the market since at least 2016, as stipulated in House Bill 653 that passed earlier this year.

US - Colorado: Proposition II, Tobacco and Nicotine Product Tax Revenue Measure (2023) was approved by public vote on the 7th November ballot. This means that the voters supported the measure to “allow the state to keep revenue that exceeds official projections from increased taxes on cigarettes, tobacco, and nicotine products, which voters approved as Proposition EE in 2020; and require the state to spend this revenue on preschool programs”.

US - New York: Bill A 8243 has been introduced. The bill would require random, quarterly inspections of retail premises authorised to sell tobacco and vapour products to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

US - General: The American Heart Association and 79 other leading national public health groups expressed their support for a ban on menthol cigarettes and all flavoured cigars in a full-page Washington Post advertisement. The ad says in part: “The FDA and White House have our full support to release lifesaving rules prohibiting menthol cigarettes and all flavoured cigars.” Last month, the FDA sent the proposed rules to the White House for final review.

US - General: Philip Morris International (PMI) has announced that it has submitted premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) and modified risk tobacco product applications (MRTPAs) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Iqos Iluma heated tobacco products. Stacey Kennedy, president of Americas Region & CEO of PMI US Business, said: “Internationally, Iqos Iluma products have demonstrated how groundbreaking consumer-centric innovation can lead more adults to stop smoking. We believe that same success can be replicated in the US and drive a rapid decrease in smoking rates among adults. These are strong applications, and we urge the FDA to prioritise them for review.” Previous Iqos products have been authorised by the FDA both for sale in the US and as modified risk tobacco products with “reduced exposure” claims. Further details can be found in our news analysis.

US - Federal: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent its proposed rules to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavoured cigars to the White House Office of Management and Budget for final review. This is the last regulatory step before issuing final rules. The proposed rule would also apply to heated tobacco.

US - Hawaii: The Honolulu City Council has passed a bill that would prohibit the sale of flavoured tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Bill 46 would make it illegal for any retailer to “sell or offer for sale a flavored tobacco product; display, market or advertise flavored tobacco products for sale; or mislabel e-liquids as nicotine-free”. The bill heads to the mayor for enactment. The City and County of Honolulu has a total population of 1m.

US - Federal: The Community Access, Resources, and Empowerment (CARE) for Moms Act has been introduced in Congress by Democrats Dick Durbin and Robin Kelly, which would increase the federal tax on tobacco products. The tobacco-related proposals in the act increase the tax on cigarettes from $1.01 to $2.02 per pack, implement a new e-cigarette tax that would be equal to the tax on cigarettes, and make the tax on chewing tobacco the same as that for cigarettes. Similar tax legislation has failed in past congressional sessions. The US Department of Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau told TobaccoIntelligence that heated tobacco consumables could be taxed at the cigarette rate, if the product "consists of a roll of tobacco wrapped in paper".