The Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (also known as the Cigarette Act) is a comprehensive act designed to provide a set of national standards for

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...

packaging in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was amended by the

Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act The Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act is a 1970 federal law in the United States designed to limit the practice of tobacco smoking. As approved by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Richard Nixon, the act required a str ...

of 1969, Comprehensive Smoking Education Act of 1984, and the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. It came in conflict with California Proposition 65.

Provisions of the Act

Declaration of Policy

It is the policy and the purpose of this Act, to establish a comprehensive Federal program to deal with cigarette labeling and advertising with respect to any relationship between smoking and health, whereby — ::(1) The public may be adequately informed that cigarette smoking may be hazardous to health by inclusion of a warning to that effect on each package of cigarettes. ::(2) Commerce and the national economy may be — :::(A) Protected to the maximum extent consistent with this declared policy. :::(B) Not impeded by diverse, nonuniform, and confusing cigarette labeling and advertising regulations with respect to any relationship between smoking and health.

Definitions

As used in this Act — :(1) ''Cigarette'' means — ::(A) Any roll of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

wrapped in paper or in any substance not containing tobacco. ::(B) Any roll of tobacco wrapped in any substance containing tobacco which, because of its appearance, the type of tobacco used in the filler, or its

packaging and labeling Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a co ...

, is likely to be offered to, or purchased by, consumers as a cigarette described in subparagraph (A). :(2) ''Commerce'' means — ::(A) Commerce between any

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands () are an archipelago between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, Caribbean islands or West Indie ...

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, or Johnston Island and any place outside thereof. ::(B) Commerce between points in any State, District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, or Johnston Island, but through any place outside thereof. ::(C) Commerce wholly within the District of Columbia, Guam, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, or Johnston Island. :(3) ''United States'', when used in a geographical sense, includes the several States, District of Columbia, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, Midway Islands, Kingman Reef, and Johnston Island. :(4) ''Package'' means a pack, box, carton, or container of any kind in which cigarettes are offered for sale, sold, or otherwise distributed to consumers. :(5) ''Person'' means an individual, partnership, corporation, or any other business or

legal entity In law, a legal person is any person or legal entity that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, lawsuit, sue and be sued, ownership, own property, and so on. The reason for the term "''le ...

. :(6) ''Sale or Distribution'' includes sampling or any other distribution not for sale.

Labeling

It shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture, import, or package for sale or distribution within the

any cigarettes the package of which fails to bear the following statement: ::* ''CAUTION: CIGARETTE SMOKING MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH'' Such statement shall be located in a conspicuous place on every cigarette package and shall appear in conspicuous and legible type in contrast by

typography Typography is the art and technique of Typesetting, arranging type to make written language legibility, legible, readability, readable and beauty, appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, Point (typogra ...

, layout, or color with other printed matter on the package.

Preemption

:(a) No statement relating to smoking and health, other than the statement required by this Act, shall be required on any cigarette package. :(b) No statement relating to smoking and health shall be required in the advertising of any cigarettes the packages of which are labeled in conformity with the provisions of this Act. :(c) Except as is otherwise provided in subsections (a) and (b), nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit, restrict, expand, or otherwise affect, the

authority Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or group of other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' may be practiced by legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government,''The New Fontana Dictionary of M ...

of the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...

with respect to unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the advertising of cigarettes, nor to affirm or deny the Federal Trade Commission's holding that it has the authority to issue trade regulation rules or to require an affirmative statement in any cigarette advertisement. :(d) For the purpose of this Act — ::(1) Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall transmit a report to the Congress not later than eighteen months after the effective date of this Act, and annually thereafter, concerning :::(A) Current information on the health consequences of smoking. :::(B) Such recommendations for

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

as the Secretary may deem appropriate. ::(2) The Federal Trade Commission shall transmit a report to the Congress not later than eighteen months after the effective date of this Act, and annually thereafter, concerning — :::(A) The effectiveness of cigarette labeling. :::(B) Current practices and methods of cigarette advertising and promotion. :::(C) Such recommendations for legislation as it may deem appropriate.

Criminal Penalty

Any person who violates the provisions of this Act shall be guilty of a

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

and shall on

conviction In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is Guilty (law), guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a ...

thereof subject to a

fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Fran Fine, the title character of ''The Nanny'' * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (p ...

of not more than $100,000.

Injunction Proceedings

The

United States district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district. Each district cov ...

s are invested with

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

, for cause shown, to prevent and restrain violations of this Act upon the application of the

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

acting through the several United States attorneys in their several districts.

Cigarettes for Export

Packages of cigarettes manufactured, imported, or packaged — :(1) For export from the

. :(2) For delivery to a vessel or

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

, as supplies, for consumption beyond the jurisdiction of the internal revenue laws of the United States shall be exempt from the requirements of this Act, but such exemptions shall not apply to cigarettes manufactured, imported, or packaged for sale or distribution to members or units of the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

located outside of the United States.

Separability

If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the other provisions of this Act and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

Termination of Provisions Affecting Regulation of Advertising

The provisions of this Act which affect the

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

of advertising shall terminate on July 1, 1969, but such termination shall not be construed as limiting, expanding, or otherwise affecting the jurisdiction or authority which the Federal Trade Commission or any other Federal agency had prior to the date of enactment of this Act.

Historical context

The U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry issued a detailed report saying that cigarette smoking was a health hazard on January 11, 1964. In June 1964, the

(FTC) announced several new requirements of the tobacco industry. Beginning on January 1, 1965, the tobacco industry would have to put health warning labels on their cigarette packages and that starting July 1, 1965, similar health warnings would be required in their advertisements. The tobacco industry responded with lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill and a public relations campaign that included brochures such as the previously produced "Tobacco—a vital U.S. Industry," stressing the economic importance of the industry and its contributions to federal revenues. S. 559 was introduced in the Senate on January 15, 1965, by Senator Warren G. Magnuson (D-WA), which required cigarette packages to bear the statement: "Warning: Continual Cigarette Smoking May be Hazardous to Your Health." The bill also removed a threat to tobacco interests by prohibiting any other health warning by federal, state, or local entities for a period of time. Representative Walter Rogers (D-TX) introduced H.R. 3014 in the House. It was similar to S. 559; however, instead of a three-year moratorium on federal agency regulation of labeling and advertising, the House bill permanently banned the Federal Trade Commission or other federal agency action concerning health warnings. The House and Senate were under pressure from both health organizations, which wanted stronger legislation informing the public about the health hazards, and tobacco interests that sought to limit the impact of the proposed warning label. A conference committee resolved differences between the House and Senate bill versions by compromising on a four-year ban of FTC action. On July 6, the Senate adopted the conference report by a voice vote and on July 13, the House adopted the report by a 286 to 103 roll-call vote. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the bill into law without comment on July 27, 1965.

References

External Resources

Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act
as amended
PDFdetails
in the GPObr>Statute Compilations collection

The Great Society Congress
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cigarette Labeling And Advertising Act 1965 in American law 1966 in American law 89th United States Congress United States federal health legislation Smoking in the United States Advertising regulation Tobacco advertising Regulation in the United States