[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 250 (Thursday, December 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 96017-96018]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31586]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2016-D-2495]


Submission of Warning Plans for Cigars; Guidance for Industry; 
Availability

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the 
availability of a guidance for industry entitled ``Submission of 
Warning Plans for Cigars.'' The guidance will help those involved in 
the manufacture, distribution, and sale of cigars in the United States 
understand the new cigar warning plan requirements under FDA's final 
rule deeming these products to be subject to the tobacco product 
authorities in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act). 
The guidance reiterates the health warning statements and display and 
distribution requirements that should be provided in cigar warning 
plans and will help persons determine who should submit a warning plan, 
when a plan must be submitted, and what information should be included 
when submitting a plan.

DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on Agency guidances 
at any time.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments as follows:

Electronic Submissions

    Submit electronic comments in the following way:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted 
electronically, including attachments, to https://www.regulations.gov 
will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be 
made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment 
does not include any confidential information that you or a third party 
may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone 
else's Social Security number, or confidential business information, 
such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your 
name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in 
the body of your comments, that information will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov.
     If you want to submit a comment with confidential 
information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, 
submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner 
detailed (see ``Written/Paper Submissions'' and ``Instructions'').

Written/Paper Submissions

    Submit written/paper submissions as follows:
     Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for written/paper 
submissions): Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
     For written/paper comments submitted to the Division of 
Dockets Management, FDA will post your comment, as well as any 
attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, 
as confidential, if submitted as detailed in ``Instructions.''
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. 
FDA-2016-D-2495 for ``Submission of Warning Plans for Cigars; Guidance 
for Industry.'' Received comments will be placed in the docket and, 
except for those submitted as ``Confidential Submissions,'' publicly 
viewable at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Division of Dockets 
Management between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
     Confidential Submissions--To submit a comment with 
confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly 
available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You 
should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information 
you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states 
``THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.'' The Agency will 
review this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in 
its consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the 
claimed confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be 
available for public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. 
Submit both copies to the Division of Dockets Management. If you do not 
wish your name and contact information to be made publicly available, 
you can provide this information on the cover sheet and not in the body 
of your comments and you must identify this information as 
``confidential.'' Any information marked as ``confidential'' will not 
be disclosed except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other 
applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA's posting of 
comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or 
access the information at: http://www.fda.gov/regulatoryinformation/dockets/default.htm.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov and insert the docket number, found in brackets in 
the heading of this document, into the ``Search'' box and follow the 
prompts and/or go to the Division of Dockets Management, 5630 Fishers 
Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
    Submit written requests for single copies of this guidance to the 
Center for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug Administration, Document 
Control Center, Bldg. 71, Rm. G335, 10903 New

[[Page 96018]]

Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002. Send one self-addressed 
adhesive label to assist that office in processing your request or 
include a fax number to which the guidance document may be sent. See 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for information on electronic 
access to the guidance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deirdre Jurand, Center for Tobacco 
Products, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., 
Document Control Center, Bldg. 71, Rm. G335, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., 
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 1-877-287-1373, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    FDA is announcing the availability of a guidance for industry 
entitled ``Submission of Warning Plans for Cigars.'' On June 22, 2009, 
the President signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control 
Act (Tobacco Control Act) (Pub. L. 111-31) into law. The Tobacco 
Control Act granted FDA important new authority to regulate the 
manufacture, marketing, and distribution of cigarettes, cigarette 
tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, and smokeless tobacco products to 
protect the public health and to reduce tobacco use by minors.
    The Tobacco Control Act also gave FDA the authority to issue a 
regulation deeming all other products that meet the statutory 
definition of a tobacco product as subject to FDA regulatory authority 
under section 901(b) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 387a(b)). On May 10, 
2016, FDA issued that rule, extending FDA's tobacco product authority 
to cigars, among other products (81 FR 28973). Among the requirements 
that now apply to cigars are health warning statements prescribed under 
section 906(d) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 387f(d)), which permits 
restrictions on the sale and distribution of tobacco products that are 
``appropriate for the protection of public health.'' The regulation 
specifies the health warning statements to be displayed and also 
requires the submission of warning plans that provide for the random, 
equal display and random distribution of the statements on cigar 
packaging and advertising.
    The guidance discusses the regulatory requirements to submit 
warning plans, who submits a warning plan, the scope of a warning plan, 
when to submit a warning plan, what information should be submitted in 
a warning plan, where to submit a warning plan, and what approval of a 
warning plan means.

II. Significance of Guidance

    This guidance is being issued consistent with FDA's good guidance 
practices regulation (21 CFR 10.115). The guidance represents the 
current thinking of FDA on submission of warning plans for cigars. It 
does not establish any rights for any person and is not binding on FDA 
or the public. You can use an alternative approach if it satisfies the 
requirements of the applicable statutes and regulations.

III. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    This guidance refers to previously approved collections of 
information found in FDA regulations. These collections of information 
are subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520). The 
collections of information in 21 CFR part 1143 have been approved under 
OMB control number 0910-0768.

IV. Electronic Access

    Persons with access to the Internet may obtain an electronic 
version of the guidance at either https://www.regulations.gov or http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/RulesRegulationsGuidance/default.htm.

    Dated: December 23, 2016.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2016-31586 Filed 12-28-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4164-01-P