Administration ramps up pressure on tobacco retailers

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the past 10 months has sent warning letters to 1,200 retailers who sold tobacco to children, the Obama administration announced Thursday.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius touted the figures in a new blog post highlighting the administration's efforts to curb childhood smoking in the wake of a legal defeat this week. The FDA gained the power to regulate tobacco through the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act and has since conducted more than 27,500 inspections nationwide.

"Most retail store owners follow the law and don't sell cigarettes to kids," she wrote, "but we're reminding those who don’t that they have a responsibility to follow the law and that there are serious consequences if they fail to do so."

Sebelius in her post vowed that the administration would continue its efforts after a federal judge on Monday blocked graphic new cigarette warnings. District of Columbia Judge Richard Leon blocked the warning requirement from going into effect until a court rules on whether they violate the First Amendment. 

"Big tobacco companies are trying to stand in the way of these common-sense measures to protect our kids," Sebelius wrote, "but we're confident their attempts will ultimately fail."

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