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Warnings on smokeless tobacco packages
In 1986, Congress passed the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act that banned smokeless tobacco advertising on TV and radio and required packages of smokeless tobacco and smokeless tobacco advertising to rotate the following three warning labels:
Warning: This product may cause mouth cancer.
Warning: This product may cause gum disease and tooth loss.
Warning: This product is not a safe alternative to smoking.
FDA regulations
On February 28, 1997, parts of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tobacco regulation went into effect. Retailers must not sell cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to any one under the age of 18, and the retailers must verify the age of their customers under age 27 by requesting a photo identification containing the person's date of birth.
Taxes
All smokeless tobacco products are taxed by the Federal government before they are sold. Although cigarettes are taxed by the Federal government at 39 cents per pack, snuff is only taxed about 4 cents per can or package and chewing tobacco is only taxed at about 1 cent per package.12 State governments also tax tobacco products and the amount varies from state to state. In May 2003 the state tax on cigarettes ranged from $1.51 per pack in Massachusetts and Connecticut to 2.5 cents per pack in Virginia.13
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