Historic new law regulates tobacco products

June 26, 2009 -- This week, President Obama signed into law bipartisan legislation granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco products.  This law, The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, is the strongest action the federal government has ever taken to reduce tobacco use. 

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S., and 1,000 kids become regular smokers every day.  Nearly 90 percent of smokers start smoking before the age of 18.

The new law will:
·    Restrict tobacco advertising and end all tobacco company sponsorship of sports and arts events
·    Stop illegal sales of tobacco products to children
·    Ban candy-flavored and fruit-flavored cigarettes
·    Require large, graphic health warnings that cover the top half of the front and back of cigarette packs
·    Ban misleading health claims such as “light” and “low-tar”
·    Strictly regulate all health claims about tobacco products to ensure that they are scientifically proven and do not discourage current tobacco users from quitting or encourage new users to start
·    Require tobacco companies to disclose the contents of tobacco products, as well as changes in products and research about their health effects
·    Empower the FDA to require changes in tobacco products, such as the removal or reduction of harmful ingredients or the reduction of nicotine levels
·    Fully fund the FDA’s new tobacco-related responsibilities with a user fee on tobacco companies so that no resources are diverted from the FDA’s current work

The new law is meant to complement, not replace, successful tobacco prevention work at the state and local level.  Schools and districts can still do their part by checking their tobacco policies to make sure they are comprehensive – allowing no tobacco use of any kind on any school property by anyone, at any time.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Guidelines for School Health Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction are an excellent resource for helping schools achieve health and education goals through comprehensive tobacco policies.  To access these guidelines and other information and resources on tobacco-free school policies, please visit NSBA’s National Consortium on Tobacco Use Prevention through Schools webpage or email schoolhealth@nsba.org.