On May 20, the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium and Public Health Law and Policy filed comments with the Food and Drug Administration, asking it to amend its “Draft Guidance for Industry: Compliance with Regulations Restricting the Sale and Distribution of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco to Protect Children and Adolescents.”  The Guidance states that the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act) does not restrict the distribution of free samples of cigars, little cigars, pipe tobacco and other “tobacco products.” 

Our comments point out that the 2009 Tobacco Control Act clearly indicates that cigars, little cigars and pipe tobacco meet the definition of “tobacco products” that are included in federal regulations restricting sampling. We argue that the language in the Draft Guidance that exempts cigars and other tobacco products from sampling regulations is contrary to the intent of the Tobacco Control Act and would create a dangerous loophole in the Act’s strict sampling restrictions.  We urge the FDA to amend the Draft Guidance to ensure that offering free samples of all tobacco products is illegal.  Read our comments to the FDA.