Tobacco.org

Tobacco regs set for argument / Issue: Does the FDA have jurisdiction to regulate cigarettes? 

The federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act applies to any product "intended to affect the structure or function of the body." Bert W. Rein, of Washington, D.C.'s Wiley, Rein & Fielding, who represents Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp, said that if this language is applied to items such as cigarettes that make no health-related claims, FDA jurisdiction could be expanded beyond all limits. Industry briefs say this could include coffee makers, guns and roller coasters.

The industry also argues that the FDA position requires federal courts to defer excessively to administrative agencies, allowing them to exercise authority Congress never intended to give them.

And, they argue that Congress and the FDA have consistently acted as though the agency had no general power to regulate tobacco. . . The federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act applies to any product "intended to affect the structure or function of the body." Bert W. Rein, of Washington, D.C.'s Wiley, Rein & Fielding, who represents Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp, said that if this language is applied to items such as cigarettes that make no health-related claims, FDA jurisdiction could be expanded beyond all limits.

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