Title 21 › Chapter 9— FEDERAL FOOD, DRUG, AND COSMETIC ACT › Subchapter IX— TOBACCO PRODUCTS › § 387a–1
The Secretary of Health and Human Services must publish a final rule about cigarettes and smokeless tobacco on the first Federal Register day that is at least 180 days after June 22, 2009. The rule will be treated as issued under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and as meeting normal rulemaking procedures. It will largely copy the August 28, 1996 rules for part 897 but with changes: authority will be set to match the new law; a labeling subpart will be removed; the terms "cigarette", "cigarette tobacco", and "smokeless tobacco" will be defined to match section 900 of the FD&C Act; "roll-your-own paper" will be added; some parts may be changed to follow First Amendment court decisions (including Lorillard v. Reilly); and the rule becomes effective one year after June 22, 2009. The rule also bans free samples of cigarettes and most tobacco products, but allows limited free samples of smokeless tobacco only inside a tightly controlled "qualified adult-only facility" that checks government photo ID, has no alcohol, is not near youth-oriented areas, is enclosed and opaque, shows no exterior tobacco advertising, limits take-away samples to one package per adult per day of no more than 0.53 ounces (15 grams) or up to 8 portions, and bars samples at sports or entertainment events. The Secretary must run a compliance program and report to Congress within 18 months after the law’s enactment. Nothing lets anyone give samples to people under the legal purchase age. As of June 22, 2009, four FDA documents from August 11, 1995 and August 28, 1996 (including the proposed- and final-rule preambles and two documents titled about nicotine in cigarettes and smokeless tobacco) will not count as advisory opinions or binding precedent for HHS or FDA, except for the parts that apply to tobacco products.
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21 U.S.C. § 387a–1
Title 21, Food and Drugs
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60