The Faltering Promise of FDA Tobacco Regulation

Ohio State Public Law Working Paper No. 483, June 2019

Saint Louis Journal of Health Law and Policy, Vol. 12, pp. 145-167

25 Pages Posted: 11 Jun 2019 Last revised: 14 Aug 2019

See all articles by Micah L. Berman

Micah L. Berman

Ohio State University (OSU) - Michael E. Moritz College of Law

Date Written: June 10, 2019

Abstract

Congress passed the Tobacco Control Act (TCA) in 2009, giving the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products for the first time. Ten years later, the promise that the TCA’s enactment would be a transformative moment for public health has not materialized. To the contrary, the FDA’s most notable regulatory effort — requiring graphic warnings on cigarette packages and advertisements — has been struck down in court, and the FDA is now scrambling to address a youth e-cigarette epidemic that caught it off guard. This Article provides a brief review of TCA implementation during the Obama administration, and it reviews the Trump administration’s “comprehensive plan” for nicotine regulation. It concludes with a discussion of the structural obstacles to more robust FDA tobacco regulation.

Keywords: FDA, Tobacco, Public Health, Administrative Law

JEL Classification: K23, K32

Suggested Citation

Berman, Micah, The Faltering Promise of FDA Tobacco Regulation (June 10, 2019). Ohio State Public Law Working Paper No. 483, June 2019, Saint Louis Journal of Health Law and Policy, Vol. 12, pp. 145-167, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3401793

Micah Berman (Contact Author)

Ohio State University (OSU) - Michael E. Moritz College of Law ( email )

55 West 12th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
United States

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