FDA Warns 3 Cigarette Companies Over Claims
FDA Warns 3 Cigarette Companies Over Claims
Aug. 27, 2015 -- Three tobacco companies have been sent warning letters for making "additive-free" and/or "natural" claims on cigarette labels, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.
The warning letters were issued to ITG Brands LLC for Winston cigarettes labeled additive-free, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Inc. for Natural American Spirit cigarettes labeled additive-free and natural, and Sherman's 1400 Broadway N.Y.C. Ltd. for Nat Sherman cigarettes labeled natural.
This is the first time the FDA has used authority gained in 2009 to take action over the use of additive-free or natural claims on the labels of tobacco products.
"The FDA's job is to ensure tobacco products are not marketed in a way that leads consumers to believe cigarettes with descriptors like 'additive-free' and 'natural' pose fewer health risks than other cigarettes, unless the claims have been scientifically supported," Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, said in an agency news release.
"This action is a milestone, and a reminder of how we use the tools of science-based regulation to protect the U.S. public from the harmful effects of tobacco use," he added.
The companies have 15 working days to respond to the warning letters and explain what they will do to correct the violations, or to challenge them. If the companies don't follow federal tobacco laws, the FDA can take further action, such as fines, seizure, injunctions or criminal prosecution.
The warning letters were issued to ITG Brands LLC for Winston cigarettes labeled additive-free, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Inc. for Natural American Spirit cigarettes labeled additive-free and natural, and Sherman's 1400 Broadway N.Y.C. Ltd. for Nat Sherman cigarettes labeled natural.
This is the first time the FDA has used authority gained in 2009 to take action over the use of additive-free or natural claims on the labels of tobacco products.
"The FDA's job is to ensure tobacco products are not marketed in a way that leads consumers to believe cigarettes with descriptors like 'additive-free' and 'natural' pose fewer health risks than other cigarettes, unless the claims have been scientifically supported," Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, said in an agency news release.
"This action is a milestone, and a reminder of how we use the tools of science-based regulation to protect the U.S. public from the harmful effects of tobacco use," he added.
The companies have 15 working days to respond to the warning letters and explain what they will do to correct the violations, or to challenge them. If the companies don't follow federal tobacco laws, the FDA can take further action, such as fines, seizure, injunctions or criminal prosecution.
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