FDA Week reports that under a latest law, the FDA has banned tobacco products that contain “an artificial or natural flavor or an herb or spice...that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke.” Retailers establish selling the banned products are subject to jail time and fines as high as $10,000, along with civil penalties of up to $250,000 per violation. However, the petition states that some products are not obviously labeled as containing flavors. The Coalition said that without absolute clarity from the FDA, retailers are at risk for "substantial and unnecessary economic losses" even when acting in excellent faith to comply with the Act.
"Even if manufacturers were to give information that a cigarette contains a natural fruit or artificial fruit, candy, herb or spice flavor, wholesalers and retailers would still be unable to determine the level at which the FDA would consider a exacting constituent or additive to be a 'characterizing flavor' of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke," the petition states.
The petition asked the FDA to begin the official rule-making process to implement the law's ban on both clearly identifiable flavored products as well as those with less definitive labeling. Under federal law, the FDA is necessary to respond to citizen petitions within 180 days.
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