We reported in December 2021 that China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) published on its website the draft Management Rules for E-cigarettes and the updated national standard (GB) on e-cigarettes for public comment. Working with important industry members, including industry associations and manufacturers, Keller and Heckman filed comments to STMA to address and seek clarification
Litigation

FDA Receives Authorization to Regulate Synthetic Nicotine



On March 15, President Joe Biden signed a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill to fund the federal government through September. The bill, as passed, includes a provision amending the definition of “tobacco product” in Section 201(rr) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”) as “any product made or derived from tobacco, or containing…
Vapor Industry Trade Groups Seek to Intervene and Appeal Decision on PMTA Deadline; VTA Files Lawsuit Against FDA


A coalition of state and national vapor trade associations[1] has moved to intervene in and appeal the District Court for the District of Maryland’s decision in American Academy of Pediatrics, et al. v. FDA, Case No. 8:18-cv-00883, which drastically accelerated the Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) deadline for vapor products to May 11,…
Debrief TODAY! American Academy of Pediatrics et al. vs. FDA: How Will the Decision Impact the Vapor Industry?



Azim Chowdhury and Eric Gotting, partners at Keller and Heckman, will discuss the recent decision in the case American Academy of Pediatrics et al. vs. FDA, which struck down the extended premarket review compliance policy for deemed tobacco products. Find out what the decision will mean to your business, both short and long term.
All…

Stay in Compliance: Register Today for Keller and Heckman’s E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium
Learn how to stay in compliance with FDA’s recent announcements and much more at Keller and Heckman’s upcoming E-Vapor and Tobacco Law Symposium on January 29 – 30, 2019, in Miami, Florida. Below is a sampling of topics that will be covered at the event. Sign up now and take advantage of our early bird…
Oral Argument Held in Deeming Rule Appeal by Nicopure Labs and Right to be Smoke-Free Coalition



On September 11, 2018, Nicopure Labs, LLC and the Right to be Smoke-Free Coalition (the “Appellants”) appeared for oral argument before a three-judge panel in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to appeal a decision issued last year by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which ruled in favor of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) in the first lawsuit challenging various provisions of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (“TCA” or “Act”) and the FDA’s Deeming Rule as they are being applied to the vapor industry. During oral argument, the Appellants argued that the Modified Risk Tobacco Product (“MRTP”) preclearance requirement imposed by Section 911 of the TCA violates the First Amendment as applied to e-cigarettes and other vapor products. In addition, the Appellants argued that application of the Act’s free sample ban to vapor products violates the First Amendment, and that FDA failed to tailor the premarket tobacco application (“PMTA”) requirements to ensure the continued availability of vapor products. Below, we provide a brief overview of the issues discussed at the oral argument. The recording of the hearing is available here. For background on the appeal, see our previous blog posts, including copies of the legal briefs, available here and here. …
Continue Reading Oral Argument Held in Deeming Rule Appeal by Nicopure Labs and Right to be Smoke-Free Coalition
FDA and Right to Be Smoke-Free Coalition File Briefs Opposing Summary Judgment Motion in Public Health NGOs’ Lawsuit Seeking to Nullify FDA’s PMTA Filing Deadline Extension




Defendant U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Right to Be Smoke-Free Coalition (RSF) recently submitted briefs to the federal district court of Maryland opposing a motion for summary judgment filed by various public health NGOs in American Academy of Pediatrics v. FDA.[1] The NGOs are challenging various extensions to premarket application…
NGOs File Motion for Summary Judgment in Lawsuit Challenging FDA’s Guidance Extending Deeming Rule Compliance Policy Deadlines



On March 27, 2018, a coalition of public health organizations including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the Truth Initiative, the American Cancer Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics, among others, as well as several individual physicians (collectively the “NGOs”) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland challenging…
U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, a Subsidiary of Altria, Challenges FDA’s Substantial Equivalence Reporting Process in New Lawsuit



On February 2, 2018, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company LLC (UST), a wholly owned subsidiary of Altria Group, Inc., filed suit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), HHS Secretary Alex Azar, and FDA Commission Scott Gottlieb in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia…
Amicus Briefs Filed in Support of Deeming Rule Appeal by Washington Legal Foundation, NJOY, CASAA, the State of Iowa and Clive Bates, et al.



On February 20, 2018 several organizations filed amicus (“friend of the court”) briefs in support of Plaintiff-Appellants Nicopure Labs’ and the Right to be Smoke-Free Coalition’s appeal in the Deeming Rule challenge now pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
The Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) is a nonprofit, public-interest law firm…