The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took an important step today to address the illegal sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to kids. The FDA announced that it sent warning letters to more than 1,200 tobacco retailers threatening civil penalties against those selling tobacco to kids. The landmark Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which gives the FDA regulatory authority over tobacco products, empowers the agency to perform compliance check inspections of tobacco retailers. The FDA conducted more than 27,500 inspections and found that most retailers are in compliance with the law. However, 1,200 locations were found to be violating the law by failing to ask for required identification, selling single cigarettes and packs of certain candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes, and improperly advertising or labeling tobacco products. The FDA's action announced today is evidence of the effectiveness of federal regulation of tobacco products, which is helping to save lives from smoking. Every day, 4,100 kids pick up their first cigarette and another 1,000 kids succumb to addiction and become regular smokers. Smoking accounts for one-third of all cancer deaths and 87 percent of lung cancer deaths. We've made progress in reducing smoking prevalence rates over the past 40 years, and now with the FDA cracking down on Big Tobacco, our kids are better protected from the industry's nefarious tools and tactics.
Today’s blog is one of a series of posts highlighting how ACS CAN is examining, prioritizing and pursuing policy interventions that ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to prevent, find, treat and survive cancer. Achieving health equity in communities nationwide is a cornerstone of our mission.