Center for Tobacco Products News

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — Robert Cioffi has smoked since he was 13 — he is now 62. He struggled with breaking the habit many times. After being diagnosed with chronic bronchitis and emphysema, he has finally quit, he says, with the help of the electronic cigarettElectronic cigarettes are one of the “hottest things to hit the smoking industry in a long time,” according to Tobacco Palace owner Gary Linn.

Although there is controversy about e-cigarettes, they are being used as a smoking cessation tool, according to Linn.

According to a New York Times news article, e-cigarettes generate $100 million in sales annually.

An advisory panel stops short of recommending a ban on menthols but urges further study, suggesting that the FDA might impose marketing limits to reduce access for young people.

March 18, 2011 By Andrew Zajac, Washington Bureau

Despite evidence that menthol cigarettes are a significant factor in the rise of smoking among adolescents, a federal advisory panel on Friday stopped short of recommending a ban on the cigarettes.

Instead, it urged further study of the issue, which suggested that the Food and Drug Administration would ultimately pursue more modest action, such as marketing restrictions aimed at reducing access for the young.

Jan 05 11

In a conference call with the tobacco industry (and me) earlier today, FDA announced they would begin to enforce the Substantial Equivalence provisions of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA). Essentially this means that any tobacco product including cigarettes, snus, snuff, ryo tobacco, and any other product which was not commercially available in the US as of Feb 15 2007 and/or has been “changed” by the manufacturer can be pulled off the market by FDA as of March 23, 2010. In order to prevent this, manufacturers selling tobacco products in American stores must comply with the TCA and FDA rules by completing and submitting one of the following prior to March 23, 2010: