U.S. flag An official website of the United States government

On Oct. 1, 2024, the FDA began implementing a reorganization impacting many parts of the agency. We are in the process of updating FDA.gov content to reflect these changes.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  1. Home
  2. Tobacco Products
  3. Products, Guidance & Regulations
  4. Rules, Regulations, and Guidance Related to Tobacco Products
  5. Section 3 of the Tobacco Control Act - Purpose
  1. Rules, Regulations, and Guidance Related to Tobacco Products

Section 3 of the Tobacco Control Act - Purpose

Return to Tobacco Control Act Main Page

The purposes of this division are:

  1. to provide authority to the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ( 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), by recognizing it as the primary Federal regulatory authority with respect to the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of tobacco products as provided for in this division;
  2. to ensure that the Food and Drug Administration has the authority to address issues of particular concern to public health officials, especially the use of tobacco by young people and dependence on tobacco; 
  3. to authorize the Food and Drug Administration to set national standards controlling the manufacture of tobacco products and the identity, public disclosure, and amount of ingredients used in such products; 
  4. to provide new and flexible enforcement authority to ensure that there is effective oversight of the tobacco industry's efforts to develop, introduce, and promote less harmful tobacco products; 
  5. to vest the Food and Drug Administration with the authority to regulate the levels of tar, nicotine, and other harmful components of tobacco products; 
  6. in order to ensure that consumers are better informed, to require tobacco product manufacturers to disclose research which has not previously been made available, as well as research generated in the future, relating to the health and dependency effects or safety of tobacco products; 
  7. to continue to permit the sale of tobacco products to adults in conjunction with measures to ensure that they are not sold or accessible to underage purchasers; 
  8. to impose appropriate regulatory controls on the tobacco industry; 
  9. to promote cessation to reduce disease risk and the social costs associated with tobacco-related diseases; and 
  10. to strengthen legislation against illicit trade in tobacco products.
     

 

Back to Top