
Keller and Heckman Partner Azim Chowdhury authored the Filter article, “Fundamental Flaws of Tobacco Control Act—and FDA’s Implementation,” published on November 14, 2022. The article discusses the Tobacco Control Act, passed by Congress in 2009, which gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority over tobacco and nicotine products. Azim describes some of the
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Food and Chemicals Unpacked Podcast – Blowing Smoke: FDA’s Evolving Regulation of Tobacco and Nicotine Products

Food and Chemicals Unpacked, a Keller and Heckman LLP podcast, just published its fourth episode, “Blowing Smoke: FDA’s Evolving Regulation of Tobacco and Nicotine Products,” featuring Tobacco and E-Vapor Partner Azim Chowdhury. The episode illuminates the regulatory landscape for tobacco products and reports on current trends in the industry. Azim shares…
Partner Azim Chowdhury to Present at FDLI’s Tobacco and Nicotine Products Regulation and Policy Conference
Keller and Heckman Partner Azim Chowdhury will present at the Food and Drug Law Institute’s (FDLI) Tobacco and Nicotine Products Regulation and Policy Conference, taking place virtually and in Washington, DC on October 20 – 21, 2022. Azim will serve as a panelist on the panel titled, “Novel Products and Future Innovation: How Would New…
FDA’s Marketing Denial Order Issued to Bidi Vapor’s Non-Tobacco Flavored ENDS Products are Set Aside and Remanded by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for being Arbitrary and Capricious
Last year, Bidi Vapor LLC (Bidi or the Company), represented by Keller and Heckman LLP Partners Eric Gotting and Azim Chowdhury, petitioned the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to review the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) order denying the Premarket Tobacco Product Applications (PMTA) for its non-tobacco flavored BIDI® Sticks, a disposable electronic nicotine…
A Closer Look at China’s New E-Cigarette Regulations
With the implementation of the Management Rules of E-cigarettes and the forthcoming effective date for the GB Standard on E-cigarettes (October 1, 2022), China has been regularly updating its e-cigarette regulations. Following up on our recent articles on China’s GB Standard and manufacturer license requirements, below we summarize various e-cigarette regulations recently promulgated by the…
FDA Denies Authorization to Market JUUL ENDS Products; Company Intends to Seek Stay of the Marketing Denial Orders
On June 23, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued marketing denial orders (MDOs)[1] to Juul Labs Inc. for all of the company’s JUUL electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products currently marketed in the United States. After review, FDA determined that Juul’s Premarket Tobacco Product Applications (PMTAs), submitted more than two years…
New Paper Authored by 15 Past Presidents of SRNT Argue for Balanced Approach to E-Cigarette Regulation
A new paper co-authored by fifteen past presidents of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) and published in the American Journal of Public Health encourages the media, legislators, and the general public to re-evaluate negative attitudes toward vaping. Kenneth Warner, lead author and dean emeritus and the Avedis Donabedian Distinguished University Professor…
Ahead of Final Rule, U.S. Postal Service Publishes Guidance Regarding Non-Mailability of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
As we have previously reported, on December 27, 2020, Congress amended the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act to apply to e-cigarettes and all vaping products (referred to in the legislation collectively as “Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems” or “ENDS”). Under the amended PACT Act, these products are subject to the same federal and state…
Congress Amends the PACT Act to Apply to All Vaping Products, Placing Huge Burden on Small Manufacturers as Third-Party Common Carriers Refuse to Ship Products
Background on the PACT Act
As part of the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,” in the most recent COVID-19 relief bill signed into law on December 27, 2020, Congress amended the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (“PACT”) Act to apply to e-cigarettes and all vaping products. Originally passed in 2009, the PACT Act amended the…
Keller and Heckman Presents at FDLI’s Introduction to Tobacco and Nicotine Law and Regulation seminar on “Pathways to Market”
Ahead of the Food and Drug Law Institute’s (FDLI) annual Tobacco and Nicotine Products Regulation and Policy Conference in Washington, DC, on October 23, 2019, Keller and Heckman attorneys Ben Wolf and Kathryn Skaggs presented on FDA’s “Pathways to Market” for new tobacco products during the pre-conference seminar, Introduction to Tobacco and Nicotine Law and …