Kids should not use tobacco products. As manufacturers of products intended for adults, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company believes that we have an important role to play in preventing underage tobacco use.
We have strongly supported programs and legislation to prevent underage tobacco use, including the recently enacted Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA). This statute gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to regulate cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, and the responsibility for coordinated efforts to reduce underage tobacco use.
This new federal statute requires the FDA to issue a variety of regulations designed to further prevent underage access to tobacco products. For example, certain regulations will:
- prohibit “self-service” displays of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products, except in age-restricted facilities;
- establish a federal minimum age of 18 for the sale of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products; and
- require retailers to obtain identification for any consumer under 27 years of age.
At the state level, USSTC continues to support enactment of youth access prevention legislation to complement FDA authority. Among other things, such state legislation would:
- require all tobacco product purchases to be clerk-assisted or conducted in an otherwise non-self-service environment to include the restriction of vending machine sales of tobacco products;
- prohibit anyone from purchasing tobacco products for, or distributing tobacco products to, a minor;
- prohibit the purchase or possession of tobacco products by minors or the use of false identification by a minor during an attempt to purchase tobacco products; and
- require minimum-age-to-purchase signage at retail stores and require valid proof-of-age for all tobacco product purchases.
