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‘Tobacco 21’ Signed into Law

Photo: David Mark from Pixabay
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed into law a bill raising the federal age requirement for tobacco and vapor product purchases to 21 from 18.
The Food and Drug Administration has 180 days to update its regulations and the new rules will go into effect 90 days after that.
A bill to raise the legal age to buy tobacco was introduced earlier this year by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Virginia Senator Tim Kaine and was combined with another bipartisan bill on the issue to become part of a massive spending package.
Proponents of the legislation argue that most underage teens who use tobacco get it from older friends. An estimated 90 percent of smokers start before age 18.
Delaying access to cigarettes is expected to produce major downstream health benefits, with one government-funded report estimating nearly 250,000 fewer deaths due to tobacco over several decades.
More than 34 million adults in the U.S., or about 13.7 percent of the population, smoke cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
While the number of smokers has decline steadily in recent years, the number of underage nicotine users has increased along with the rising popularity of e-cigarettes.
Youth tobacco use has been a point of discussion in Washington as the prevalence of e-cigarette use and vaping among teenagers seemed to skyrocket.
Altria Group and Juul Labs were among the biggest supporters of the measure, blanketing Capitol Hill with lobbyists and advertisements touting their support for a national “Tobacco 21” law.
Health groups criticized their efforts as a tactic to forestall measures that would be more damaging to the tobacco and vapor business, such as banning flavored nicotine juices.
“Altria and Juul clearly support this in order to argue that no other action is necessary,” said Matthew Myers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
The legislation leaves unchanged a requirement that adverting be targeted to people who are at least 18, according to Stanton Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Research Control & Education at the University of California in San Francisco.
December 23, 2019
RELX Presents Technology to Deter Minors
E-cigarette manufacturer RELX Technology has launched Project Sunflower, a system designed to prevent minors from accessing to tobacco products.
Project Sunflower uses ID and facial recognition technologies to ensure that only adults are able to purchase products in RELX’s China stores. Minors are not allowed to enter RELX stores, and new in-store face-scanning cameras will send alerts to RELX store staff if a suspected minor enters the store. Any suspected minor that is not able to present legal, valid identification that proves he or she is an adult will be asked to leave the RELX store.
RELX customers will also need to verify their age through a facial recognition process that matches the customer’s face with the photo on the customer’s Chinese Resident Identity Card. This process is to ensure that the person in the store is using their own valid identification and not attempting to impersonate an adult.
RELX is also launching RELX smart vending machines using the same facial recognition technology to prevent underage access.
The company plans to install Project Sunflower cameras and facial recognition systems in more than 100 shops in the next three months and aims to expand the system to cover all RELX Stores in China by July 2020.
RELX is currently developing a tracking system that connects customers, product bar codes and shop locations. Once the system is complete, RELX will be able to trace a product to its point of sale if a minor is found to be in possession of a RELX product.
“We are committed to ensuring that our products do not end up in the hands of minors. Project Sunflower is testament to our commitment to utilizing the latest advancements in technology to strengthen the prevention of minors from accessing our vapor products, ”said Kate Wang, CEO of RELX.
December 23, 2019
WHO Hails Drop in Male Smoking
The number of men smoking tobacco has fallen for the first time in at least 19 years, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Men account for eight of every 10 smokers worldwide.
Global tobacco use has fallen from about 1.4 billion people in 2000 to around 1.3 billion people in 2018, according to the WHO report, which covers combustible products in the period 2000–2025.
The decline has been largely driven by reductions in the number of females using these products (from 346 million in 2000 to 244 million in 2018).
Over the same period, male tobacco use had risen by around 40 million, from 1.05 billion in 2000 to 1.09 billion in 2018.
The new report shows that the number of male tobacco users has stopped growing and is projected to decline by more than 1 million by 2020 and by 5 million by 2025.
By 2020, the WHO projects there will be 10 million fewer tobacco users, male and female, compared to 2018 and another 27 million fewer by 2025. Some 60 percent of countries have been experiencing a decline in tobacco use since 2010, according to its report.
WHO officials hailed the findings as a turning point in the fight against tobacco.
“For many years now, we had witnessed a steady rise in the number of males using deadly tobacco products. But now, for the first time, we are seeing a decline in male use, driven by governments being tougher on the tobacco industry,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The WHO attributes the decline in tobacco consumption to anti-smoking measures, such as advertising bans, health warnings and tax hikes.
Despite the gains, the WHO noted that progress in meeting the global target set by governments to cut tobacco use by 30 percent by 2025 remains off track. Based on current progress, a 23 percent reduction will be achieved by 2025.
“The work is not yet done,” said Vinayak Prasad, head of the WHO’s tobacco control unit. “Without stepped up national action, the projected fall in tobacco use still won’t meet global reduction targets. We must never let up in the fight against Big Tobacco.”
The WHO report covers cigarettes, pipes, cigars, waterpipes, smokeless tobacco and heated-tobacco products. Electronic cigarettes are not covered in the report.
December 19, 2019
BAT Told to Stop Using Instagram

The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ordered British American Tobacco (BAT) to stop advertising its e-cigarettes on Instagram.The advertising watchdog also directed the company to remove all ads related to its Vype e-cigarette on the social media platform.The decision follows complaints about seven Vype Instagram post that health groups said are likely to appeal to those below 18 years of age.Action on Smoking and Health, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products also alleged the company had used models who appeared to be under 25, which is prohibited in the U.K.The ASA rejected a complaint that BAT had deliberately targeted anyone other than adults through its Instagram posts.While U.K. laws ban online advertising of e-cigarettes, the EU’s Tobacco Products Directive permits manufacturers to provide factual product information on their websites.However, the ASA ruled that social media accounts are not the same as websites, and therefore BAT could not use the platforms for disseminating factual or promotional content on e-cigarettes.“The ASA’s ruling is a huge step forward in preventing tobacco companies from using social media to advertise to young people in the U.K. and around the world,” said Mark Hurley, director of international communications for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.“While the ASA ruling is great news, urgent policy change is needed from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to prevent BAT and other tobacco companies from using social media to advertise their harmful products to young people around the world.”A BAT spokesperson said the company would comply with the ruling.
December 18, 2019
FDA Authorizes Low-Nic Cigarettes
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued marketing orders to permit the sale in the U.S. of 22^nd Century Group’s proprietary low-nicotine Moonlight and Moonlight Menthol cigarettes.
After reviewing the premarket tobacco product applications (PMTA) submitted by 22nd Century Group in December 2018, the FDA concluded that the marketing of Moonlight and Moonlight Menthol cigarettes is “appropriate for the protection of the public health.”
Among other things, the agency determined that nonsmokers, including youth are unlikely to start smoking Moonlight and Moonlight Menthol cigarettes, and those who experiment are less likely to become addicted than people who experiment with conventional cigarettes.
According to the FDA, conventional cigarettes made in the U.S. on average contain tobacco with a nicotine content of 10 to 14 milligrams per cigarette. Moonlight and Moonlight Menthol have nicotine content between 0.2 to 0.7 mg per cigarette.
“Conventional cigarettes are designed to create and sustain addiction to nicotine,” said Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products in a statement announcing the authorization.
“In announcing the FDA’s comprehensive plan to regulate tobacco and nicotine in July 2017, we noted our commitment to taking actions that will allow more addicted smokers to reduce their dependence and decrease the likelihood that future generations will become addicted to cigarettes.
Today’s authorization represents the first product to successfully demonstrate the potential for these types of tobacco products to help reduce nicotine dependence among addicted smokers.”
“FDA authorization of 22nd Century’s proprietary Moonlight and Moonlight Menthol brand cigarettes is a major milestone in our efforts to drive meaningful change in the tobacco industry,” said Michael Zercher, president and chief operating officer of 22nd Century Group.
“22nd Century joins just two other companies in having marketing orders granted under the FDA’s PMTA regulatory pathway. Those other companies, Philip Morris International and Swedish Match, are very large, global tobacco companies with significant financial, scientific and regulatory affairs resources, so we are extremely proud of the world-class work done by our regulatory team to successfully secure this marketing authorization from the FDA.”

December 17, 2019
‘Kathmandu Smoke-Free by 2020’
Kathmandu will be smoke-free by the end of 2020, reports The Himalayan Times, citing Mayor Bidhya Sundar Shakya.
The metropolis is part of the Partnership for Healthy Cities, a global network of 70 cities committed to saving lives by preventing noncommunicable diseases (NCD) such as cancer and diabetes.
Through this partnership, cities commit to one of 14 interventions that address the risk factors causing NCDs and injuries, such as implementing smoke-free laws that protect residents from secondhand smoke.
“Improving public health requires bold action,” said Mayor Shakya. “We are proud to be part of this group of cities working to ensure longer and fuller lives for people.”
A recent study shows that prevalence of tobacco use in adults is 68.4 percent in rural areas of Kathmandu and 37 percent in urban areas of Kathmandu.
December 17, 2019
Leaf Exporters Welcome Trade Deal
U.S. tobacco exporters have welcomed the announcement of the recent trade agreement reached between the United States and China.
As part of the deal, China has reportedly agreed to buy more from the U.S. agricultural, manufacturing, energy and services sectors.
In the year preceding the U.S.-China trade dispute, the U.S. exported $162 million worth of tobacco to China, according to Pyxus International. Last year, that number decreased to only $4 million.
“The agreement is a welcome first step to reopening China’s vast consumer market to U.S. agricultural products including tobacco,” Pyxus wrote in a statement.
“While this compromise is only one piece of a much needed comprehensive trade agreement and additional steps need to take place to restart leaf exports, it is an encouraging move in the right direction, helping to foster enhanced trade and promote greater opportunities for success in the global economy.”
December 17, 2019
U.S. Senate OKs Higher Tobacco Age
The U.S. Congress would raise the tobacco purchasing age to 21 from 18 under a government spending bill unveiled on Monday.
If signed into law, the legislation would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration six months to develop regulations. The agency would then have three years to work with states on implementing the change.
The tobacco legislation was originally sponsored by Senator Tim Kaine and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and has broad bipartisan support.
Tobacco companies have also been pushing for a higher purchasing age, which they see less disruptive to their business than other measures that have been under discussion.
Earlier this year, federal authorities vowed they would “clear the market” of flavored products, but the Trump administration appears to have backtracked amid industry opposition and warnings that a flavor ban could cost the president votes in the 2020 election.
While welcoming a higher buying age, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) said the initiative shifts attention from efforts to ban flavored e-cigarettes.
“Juul and Altria have hijacked the tobacco 21 issue for their own nefarious reasons as a shield to fight efforts to prohibit flavored e-cigarettes,” said Matthew L. Myers, president of the CTFK. “It is deeply disappointing that the budget agreement gives these tobacco companies what they want without addressing the crisis caused by flavored e-cigarettes.”
Republican and Democratic lawmakers hope to pass the $1.4 trillion spending bill before current government funding runs out on Saturday to avoid a partial government shutdown.
December 17, 2019