Legal

State

Overview of U.S. smoke-free foster care regulations
In order to protect foster children from exposure to secondhand smoke in their homes, an increasing number of states are implementing regulations that prohibit smoking in foster homes and in motor vehicles that transport foster children. The Public Health Law Center has created a factsheet that highlights the twenty-five state smoke-free foster care regulations that are in effect as of December 2012. Click here to access this factsheet. Click here to read the related brief titled “Smoke-free Foster Care: Policy Options and the Duty to Protect” that examines policy options for providing a smoke-free environment for foster children.

Condo owners win secondhand smoke case (CA)
California Superior Court jurors sided with a family in a groundbreaking case against their condo association regarding its failure to ensure the family’s right to live without interference “with the quiet enjoyment” of their homes, having failed to address the family’s complaint of exposure to secondhand smoke. Click here to read more. Click here to access resource materials from ChangeLab Solutions regarding legal options for tenants experiencing drifting tobacco smoke. Related: California bill would ban smoking in multi-unit housing Smoke-free housing is a growing trend in the state, and there is legislation under consideration that would make multiunit residences smoke-free. The bill would eliminate smoking in condominiums, duplexes and apartments to protect residents from secondhand smoke exposure. Click here to track AB 746, which has been referred to the Committee on Housing and Community Development.

Florida ruling could force tobacco sector's hand in Engle cases (FL)
The Florida Supreme Court has ruled against tobacco companies in a case where the companies claimed that their rights were violated by a decision made in 2006 that broke up a class action lawsuit, but allowed smokers in Florida to file individual lawsuits against tobacco companies for smoking-related harms. As a result of this 2006 ruling, thousands of cases were filed against tobacco companies Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., and Liggett Group LLC in the state.  These cases all used the previous case of Howard Engle vs. Liggett Group LLC where the tobacco company was found liable for Engle’s death due to the fraudulent concealment of information and negligence, among other charges. Tobacco companies claim that use of previous cases in current and future law suits infringes on their right to due process. Click here for more details.

Cigarette distributors face lawsuit (NY)
New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman is filing a lawsuit against a cigarette plant on the Six Nations of the Grand River Indian reservation and a Seneca businessman regarding an operation that planned to sell billions of tax-free cigarettes in the state. The lawsuit was filed due to cigarettes, including the Seneca brand, being made in a plant in Ontario, Canada and sold tax-free throughout New York. Seneca brand cigarettes are sold on reservations throughout the state tax-free, and Schneiderman claims that the complex network in which they are being sold violates several state and federal laws. Cigarettes sold tax-free not only cost the state in lost taxes, but they also affect the health of smokers due to the appeal of cheaper prices. Click here to read more.

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National

FDA track-and-trace petition
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and six national organizations filed a Citizen Petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging it to establish a “track-and-trace” system to monitor the distribution of cigarettes and other tobacco products throughout the country. The system would require unique identifying codes on tobacco products (e.g. high tech tax stamps) so authorities could track tobacco products from their manufacture to sale and prevent illicit counterfeiting and interstate trafficking of cigarettes. Other petition signatories were the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Legacy, and Public Citizen. Click here to read the FDA Citizen Petition.

Following DOJ decision, FDA should quickly create new cigarette warning labels
The U.S. Department of Justice has announced that it will not appeal the federal court ruling that rejected the new graphic warning labels proposed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cigarette packs. Based on this ruling, tobacco control advocacy organizations such as the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS-CAN) and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids are calling for the FDA to quickly develop new graphic warning labels as soon as possible. The FDA was appointed as the authority for regulating tobacco products, and the agency proposed new graphic warning labels that were disputed in legal proceedings by tobacco companies. Warning labels are still required by law on all cigarette packages, and although the courts have sided with tobacco companies, new graphic warning labels need to be created to replace the ineffective text-only labels currently on packaging today. Graphic warning labels have been proven to be effective in encouraging smokers to quit as well as deterring youth from starting to smoke. To read more, click here. Click here to read the statement released by ACS-CAN, and click here for the statement released by the CTFK.

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