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Tobacco User Fee Modernization Act of 2024
9/11/2024, 6:53 AM
Summary of Bill HR 9425
The bill proposes several key changes to the current system of tobacco user fees. One of the main provisions of the bill is to increase the user fees on tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco. These increased fees are intended to help offset the public health costs associated with tobacco use and to discourage people from smoking.
In addition to increasing the user fees on tobacco products, the bill also includes provisions to update the way in which these fees are calculated. The bill proposes a new formula for calculating the user fees, taking into account factors such as inflation and changes in tobacco consumption patterns. Furthermore, the bill includes provisions to improve the enforcement of the user fees and to crack down on illicit tobacco trafficking. This includes increased penalties for those who evade paying the user fees and enhanced cooperation between federal and state authorities in enforcing the fees. Overall, the Tobacco User Fee Modernization Act of 2024 aims to update and modernize the user fees on tobacco products in order to better protect public health and reduce tobacco use in the United States. The bill is currently being debated in Congress and may undergo further revisions before being voted on.
Congressional Summary of HR 9425
Tobacco User Fee Modernization Act of 2024
This bill expands fees for tobacco product manufacturers and importers to apply to additional products, such as electronic cigarettes, and it increases the total amount of the fees collected annually.
Under current law, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must assess and collect user fees from tobacco product manufacturers and importers for six product classes: (1) cigarettes, (2) cigars, (3) snuff, (4) chewing tobacco, (5) pipe tobacco, and (6) roll-your-own tobacco. The FDA must collect a specified total amount of user fees each fiscal year, which is allocated among the six classes based on volume and assessed based on each company’s market share for the class. The FDA has determined it does not currently have authority to assess user fees for other tobacco products outside of the six classes, such as electronic cigarettes, vape pens, or hookah tobacco.
The bill expands the user fees to also apply to other tobacco products, which the bill defines as products that are made or derived from tobacco, or contain nicotine from any source, but do not fit within one of the current six product classes. In FY2028, the FDA must begin collecting user fees for these other tobacco products.
Additionally, the bill increases the total annual amount of collected user fees, with increases after FY2025 based on inflation. The assessment of the total annual amount is allocated across both the six current classes and the bill’s new class of other tobacco products.
