On Tuesday, October 20, 2009, the Technical Assistance Legal Center (TALC) and the Center for Tobacco Policy & Organizing (the Center) hosted a webinar on the new law that gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate tobacco products. Speakers provided a summary of the provisions of the law and the lawsuit brought against it and detailed which tobacco control policies are affected by the law.

Yes. A city or county may enact a law banning the sale of tobacco in pharmacies so long as the law does not treat similar stores containing pharmacies differently from one another.

 In 2008, San Francisco became the first city in the nation to ban the sale of tobacco products at most pharmacies. The law exempts grocery stores and big box stores with pharmacies. The San Francisco law was challenged in two lawsuits: one in federal court by Phillip Morris, and another in state court by Walgreens.

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate products that contain tobacco. Not every provision in the 2009 FDA Law, however, applies to every kind of tobacco product. This fact sheet explains which restrictions in the 2009 FDA Law apply to which tobacco products.

You may also be interested in these other TALC products about the FDA:

A law synopsis from the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium written by Ian McLaughlin, Senior Staff Attorney at PHLP.