FDA Tobacco Legislation - Opportunity to Provide Comments and Information on Implementation
The Food and Drug Administration has established a public docket for interested parties, including tobacco product manufacturers and distributors, to provide information and comment on the implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. Written comments are due by September 29, 2009. The FDA will consider all comments in implementing the Act.
Comments can be submitted to the FDA either electronically, by U.S. Mail or delivered in person. A comment should indicate whether for or against, should be supported by relevant material (e.g., articles, scientific data), and refer to the docket number listed on the Federal Register notice. All comments received by the deadline established in the notice will become part of the public record.
The comment period provides an opportunity to help shape the outcome of the rules and regulations from the industry prospective, taking into account important strategic business concerns which factor into the tobacco industry. By not participating in the comment period the industry runs the risk of finding themselves in a position of being subjected to a set of rules and regulations which are unlikely to take into account these same strategic business concerns. Considering that this is an industry that the FDA has no experience with and, therefore, a golden opportunity to educate the FDA, tobacco manufacturers and distributors should strongly consider submitting comments to share their concerns regarding implementation and enforcement of the Act. Please contact the Troutman Sanders Tobacco Team for more information.
The Troutman Sanders Tobacco Team consists of partners, attorneys of counsel and associates who have the "inside" experience, legal skills and business savvy to best service our tobacco clients. They work closely together and with clients to develop business strategies (particularly as they pertain to state escrow compliance issues); to maneuver through the complicated regulatory process; and to handle branding, transactional and litigation matters.