Current Regulatory Oversight

There is extensive regulation of the tobacco industry and the cigarettes it produces at every level of government. Perhaps no other product is regulated in so many ways, or by so many agencies, as tobacco products. Moreover, while regulation of consumer products is typically left to federal agencies, Congress itself has stepped in to oversee the tobacco industry in many areas, and during the past 30 years Congress has held frequent hearings to consider whether additional regulation may be warranted. From the seed-bed to the sales counter, tobacco products are among the most highly regulated products in the nation.

Congressional Oversight

To a unique degree, and far more so than any other consumer product, cigarettes historically have been subject to direct Congressional oversight. Through statutes such as the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1965, the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act of 1969 and the Comprehensive Smoking Education Act of 1984, Congress has imposed extensive and detailed controls over cigarettes. It is and has long been "the clear mandate of the Congress that the basic regulation of tobacco and tobacco products is governed by the legislation dealing with the subject ... and that any further regulation in this sensitive and complex area must be reserved for specific Congressional action." Congressional bodies hold hearings with extraordinary frequency to review and reconsider existing federal policy in this area.

Pesticide Usage

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approves the types and application rates for pesticides used on tobacco and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) enforces these rules. Domestic farmers are required to certify to the USDA that they are in compliance with the use of proper pesticides and application rates.

Labeling and Advertising

The Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (FCLAA) bans cigarette advertising on television and radio and other electronic media, and requires cigarette packages and advertising to carry specified health warnings. The Department of Justice, in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission, ensures compliance with the ban on advertising in the electronic media. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ensures compliance with the provisions of the Act regarding the format and rotation of the specified health warnings. Information concerning tar and nicotine is included in cigarette advertising pursuant to a 1970 agreement between the FTC and the major United States cigarette manufacturers, and the commission oversees testing of tar and nicotine yields under a 1987 agreement with the manufacturers.

FCLAA also directs the FTC to submit annually to Congress a report concerning cigarette advertising and promotion, along with any agency recommendations for legislation. To meet those obligations, the FTC has, for many years, required the cigarette manufacturers to submit detailed information concerning cigarette advertising and promotional expenditures on an annual basis. The FTC has authority to address unfair or deceptive cigarette advertising under the Federal Trade Commission Act, and the agency has exercised that authority.

The Alchohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) regulates still other aspects of the packaging of tobacco products. TTB's regulations include provisions requiring the disclosure of certain information on every tobacco product carton or package. Other TTB regulations govern the type of packaging in which tobacco products can be marketed and prohibit certain promotional practices.

Ingredients

The ingredients used in cigarettes are monitored by the Office on Smoking and Health in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Under this regulatory system, cigarette manufacturers are required to submit a complete list of all ingredients added to tobacco in the manufacture of cigarettes to HHS on an annual basis. Cigarette manufacturers have also submitted additional ingredient information at the request of HHS. Congress considered this reporting system to be adequate to "permit the federal government to initiate the toxicologic research necessary to measure any health risk posed by the addition of additives and other ingredients to cigarettes during the manufacturing process." HHS is required, in turn, to submit reports advising Congress of any information pertaining to any such ingredient "which in the judgment of the Secretary poses a health risk to cigarette smokers."