Trump Wants a New Agency to Oversee Tobacco Products
Large cigarette companies, such as Altria (NYSE: MO), British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI) and Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM), as well as smaller companies, the likes of Vector Group (NYSE: VGR) and privately held Njoy, may have a new regulator if the Trump administration gets its way.
As part of its budget proposal, the White House proposed establishing a new agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that would be dedicated to regulating tobacco, including e-cigarettes. The move would strip the Food and Drug Administration of its current power, which the Trump administration pointed out would allow the agency to focus on its more traditional role of regulating medications.
The FDA has regulated tobacco companies' products since 2009, when Congress officially gave the agency that right through the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. In the 1990s, the Clinton administration tried to rein in sales to minors, but the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled 5-to-4 that the agency had overstepped its authority and needed Congress' approval.
Source Fool.com