Covid, Tobacco Policy at Risk After the High Court
Covid, Tobacco Policy at Risk After the High Court (US Supreme Court) Emissions Ruling. Bloomberg Law. July 1, 2022.The US Supreme court recently ruled on the Environmental Protection Agency’s and other agencies’ authority to establish rules and regulations affecting agency interests related to health and welfare.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/high-court-emission-call-risks-tying-hhs-hands-on-covid-tobacco
“The justices’ 6-3 precedent-setting ruling endorsed a legal approach called the major questions doctrine, which states that agencies need precise Congressional authorization to address issues of major financial or political importance in novel ways…. The ruling could slow or halt future Covid-19 public health regulations, threaten the Food and Drug Administration’s attempts to ban menthol in cigarettes, and thwart the Biden administration’s efforts to protect reproductive health-care and LGBTQ rights, healthcare scholars and lawyers said.”
Comment: A dissenting opinion from one of the nine Supreme Court judges noted that since Congress is so divided on regulatory issues, the Court itself might have to decide regulatory policy for which it has no expertise, a catastrophically terrible idea.
Stephen Hamann
