Public Health Law

Controlled substances are those substances which have a potential for abuse and are thus regulated by the Federal government. These can be pharmaceutical substances, prescription medications, or illegal "street" drugs. The government's power to regulate these is derived from the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 and is generally enforced through the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration.

Risky  behaviors, although not illegal for adults, are those which can lead to significant health risks per their abuse or prolonged use. Many of these are lifestyle choices and include using tobacco, excessive alcohol consumption, and abuse of prescription drugs. These behaviors are those that have the recognized potential to pose serious health risks. A broad portion of the laws regarding these behaviors are aimed at protecting children from exposure to, acquisition of, and use of these substances.

Authority

• Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (2009)
  • Granted FDA authority to regulate the manufacture, distribution and marketing of tobacco products to protect public health
• Austin v. Tennessee, 179 U.S. 343 (1900)
  • Supreme Court finds that states can use police powers to regulate, even prohibit, products for public health purposes within state
    • even if manufactured out of state
    • even if indirect interference with interstate commerce
• R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. FDA, 696 F.3d 1205 (D.C. 2012)
  • Graphic warnings on cigarette advertising would not directly advance interest in reducing smoking rates
• Discount Tobacco City & Lottery, Inc. v. US, 674 F.3d 509 (6th Cir. 2012)
  • Tobacco Control Act's ban on use of color and imagery in most tobacco advertising was overbroad
• Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly, 533 U.S. 525 (1st Cir. 2001)
  • State/federal preemption question on advertising regulations
• Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., 505 U.S. 504 (1992)
  • Personal injury / product liability claim for contracting lung cancer
• Altria Group, Inc. v. Goode, 555 U.S. 70
  • "light" and "low tar" misrepresentation - preemption is not a defense
• U.S. v. Philip Morris USA Inc., 566 F.3d 1095 (2009)
  • Department of Justice filed RICO Action against tobacco companies to recover health care expenditures of the federal government associated with tobacco related illness.
• D.A.B.E. v. City of Toledo, 393 F.3d 692 (2005)
  • State regulations of indoor smoking not a taking
• Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act
  • 1965 – FCLAA enacted to inform public of hazards of smoking and protect national economy from non-uniform labeling and advertising
  • 1969 – changed original caution to warning “Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined That Smoking Is Dangerous To Your Health.”
  • 1984 – 4 rotating warnings
• U.S. Oil v. City of Fond du Lac, 544 N.W.2d 589 (1996)
  • State legislation prohibiting children from purchasing or possessing tobacco products and prohibiting sale or giving of tobacco products to children preempted city's ordinance

Online Resources

• Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS) at GSU
  • Georgia State University’s School of Public Health, along with its major partners, the University of Illinois – Chicago and RTI International, comprise one of 14 Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science (TCORS) established in October 2013 as a result of a grant from the National Institute of Health and Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• SmokeLitigation.org
  • Provides searchable summaries of more than 600 legal cases regarding smoking in the workplace and other places
• ChangeLab Solutions Tobacco Control
  • Provides model policies, how-to guides, fact sheets, and other policy tools
• BeTobaccoFree.gov Laws/Policies
• Public Health Law Center (PHLC) Tobacco Control
• PHLC Federal Regulation of Tobacco Collection
  • Public Health Law Center at William Mitchell College of Law provides two series of fact sheets that summarize by topic key elements of the new law and describe how the new federal legislation will affect the tobacco control authority of state and local governments.
• Legal Resource Center for Tobacco Regulation, Litigation & Advocacy
  • University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
• Smoking Cessation Strategies: the 2008 Public Health Service Guideline
• Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) Innovative Tobacco Control
• NCSL Tobacco and Smoking

Articles

• Tobacco products, exemptions from substantial equivalence requirements. Final rule
  • Final rule issued by FDA to establish procedures for requesting an exemption from the substantial equivalence requirements of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act). The final rule describes the process and statutory criteria for requesting an exemption and explains how FDA reviews requests for exemptions.
• Raising the Excise tax on Cigarettes: Effects on Health and the Federal Budget
• The Tobacco Control Act Four Years Later: Living Up to its Promise?(2013)
  • In this webinar, speakers will reflect on the past four years of federal tobacco regulation, including successes, disappointments, and hopes for the future.
• Potential Health Effects of Menthol: A White Paper

Data

• Economic Facts About U.S. Tobacco Production and Use

State Surveys

• RWJF Interactive Tobacco Map Provides Latest Data on State Smoking Laws
  • Provides state-by-state breakdowns on smoke-free laws, cigarette tax rates and total tobacco control spending. The breakdowns include population, timeline and other information to help present a complete picture of each state’s efforts.
• ANR Smokefree Lists, Maps, and Data
  • Tobacco control laws around the country since the early 1980s
• BeTobaccoFree.gov State and Local Laws
• State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues (SLATI) State Pages

Videos

• Tobacco 21
  • In this Critical Opportunities presentation, Michelle Mello, JD, PhD, makes the case that raising the tobacco purchasing age to 21 would aid in reducing minors' tobacco use by 50 percent, which would prevent 10 million people from becoming daily smokers and avoid 3 million premature deaths.

Georgia Smokefree Air Act

• O.C.G.A. §§ 31-12A-1 through 31-12A-13
• O.C.G.A. § 31-12A-6 – Many Exceptions

Georgia bans smoking and tobacco products on state university campuses

Online Resources

• CDC Preventions Status Reports on Excessive Alcohol Use
• CDC Alcohol and Public Health
• NCSL's State-by-State Drunk Driving Charts
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Articles

• (White Paper) Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention: Evidence & Implications