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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned the sale of sweet flavored cigarettes as part of an effort to reduce the number of children and teenagers who start smoking, the Washington Post reports. Banned as part of the sweeping Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law in June, the legislation makes it illegal to manufacture, distribute or sell cigarettes flavored to taste like cloves, candy or fruit. According to the Washington Post, Congress declined to expand the ban to include menthol-flavored cigarettes, which are the most popular type of flavored tobacco and a significant source of revenue for tobacco companies. However, Congress did direct the FDA to study whether there should eventually be a ban on menthol-flavored cigarettes. The agency has contacted manufacturers and retailers to remind them of the ban, and a team of FDA workers will begin meeting daily to review reports of violations and decide how to respond. The agency has also established a hotline and Web site where the public can report violations. Other facets of the tobacco control legislation will allow the FDA to ban the most harmful of the estimated 6,000 chemicals used in tobacco products and reduce the amount of nicotine in tobacco products. In addition, tobacco manufacturers will for the first time be required to disclose all product ingredients, expand the size of warning labels so that they cover 50 percent of packaging, and include graphic images of the health effects of tobacco. Tobacco advertising and promotion will also be restricted under the new ban (Layton, Washington Post, 9/22/09 [registration required]; Rubin, USA Today, 9/22/09).