FDA tobacco product reviews at standstill

RICHMOND, Va. – Talk about a smoke break.

Tobacco companies have introduced almost no new cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products in the U.S. in more than 18 months because the federal government has prevented them from doing so, an Associated Press review has found.

It’s an unprecedented pause for an industry that historically has introduced dozens of new products annually, and reflects its increasingly uneasy relationship with the Food and Drug Administration, which in 2009 began regulating tobacco.

Officials at the FDA say the reviews of applications for new products have taken so long because of “significant deficiencies” and because the agency is taking extra care in reviewing products that pose public health risks. Industry executives say cigarettes haven’t changed in any meaningful way and the delays don’t make sense. They say the changes are as simple as a brand name change, cigarette filters or, in some cases, different packaging.

Since June 2009, when the law allowing the agency to regulate tobacco went into effect, the tobacco industry has submitted nearly 3,500 product applications, according to data obtained by the AP under a Freedom of Information Act request.

Part of the problem is that the tobacco industry is still learning how to deal with being regulated.

“They have the burden of demonstrating that new products and product changes won’t increase youth tobacco use, won’t increase toxicity and won’t wrongly deter people from quitting,” said Matt Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.