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New rules by FDA prohibit tobacco sale to minors
by Neha Gupta - March 19, 2010 - comments
FDA has announced the ban on the direct sale of tobacco products to people below the age of 18. The store keepers would now be required to check the photo IDs of the customers before selling them any tobacco products.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on Thursday announced levying some rules to make it harder for kids under 18 to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products, also making it difficult for the companies to advertise them.
“The new rules will help our kids stay healthier by making it harder for tobacco companies to target them," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said at a press conference announcing the new marketing rules.
Details of the new rules
FDA has announced the ban on the direct sale of these products to people below the age of 18. The store keepers would now be required to check the photo IDs of the customers before selling them any tobacco product.
The rules also prohibit the sale of cigarettes through vending machines in public places, unless the area is restricted for kids.
Free samples and packs with less than 20 cigarettes, too, have been banished as these cheaper packs seem to easily fit into the budgets of young buyers.
On the advertising front, the health officials have ordered that teen-oriented print ads would be in black and white instead of colored prints.
The video ads, too, would be devoid of any music or sound effects.
Sporting events, cultural and social events would not be allowed to take any tobacco company sponsorships, the FDA revealed.
Every day around 4000 youngsters under 18 try smoking for the first time, while 1000 fall prey to chain smoking, claim reports.
The heath authority has also decided to levy a ban on the sale or distribution of tobacco brand logo items like hats, shoes, and T-shirts.
FDA has already begun collecting information on the products used in tobacco goods, in order to take further steps, while candy and fruit flavored cigarettes have already been restricted.
The regulations would come into effect from June 22, the officials stated.
Young smokers on the rise
Every day around 4000 youngsters under 18 try smoking for the first time, while 1000 fall prey to chain smoking, claim reports.
FDA is of the view that the new rules would help them curb the tobacco industry’s flourishing youth market, which is adversely affecting the society.
"Studies have shown that tobacco promotion substantially increases smoking initiation by children and adolescents," Dr. Howard K. Koh, HHS assistant secretary for health, said during the press conference. "The regulations being announced today are designed to prevent our children from becoming the next generation of Americans to die early from tobacco-related illness."
Though the FDA fears of some legal challenges on its decisions, the anti-tobacco bodies are all praise for the FDA action.
Matthew L. Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a news release. "The government for the first time has the authority to respond to the tobacco industry's inevitable efforts to circumvent specific marketing restrictions.”
"This is a long-overdue step to stop the tobacco industry's predatory targeting of our children that continues even today," he added.