What's Next for Four Key Legislative Issues
Bryan Haynes, a partner with Troutman Pepper and head of the firm's Tobacco law practice group, is quoted in the CSP Magazine article, " What's Next for Four Key Legislative Issues."
The proposals are a concern for retailers, as Statista estimates 37% of cigarette sales in the United States are menthol. But Bryan Haynes, a partner specializing in tobacco industry regulatory compliance and enforcement matters at Richmond, Va.-based Troutman Pepper, says there’s time before these rules would go into effect.
First, the FDA must allow time for public comments—at least 60 days, but for an issue of this size, it will likely be longer—and then it must review all comments.
"There will surely be quite a bit of input, so it will take the agency time," he says. "I would think at least two years from the issuance of the proposed rule to seeing a final rule."
Even if approved, the rule will not immediately go into effect.
"There's a difference between the issuance of a final rule and the effective date," Haynes says, adding that the Tobacco Control Act mandates no standard take effect earlier than one year from the final rule issuance. "We're talking three years. … Then there's the likelihood of litigation."