In 2009, the FDA was given authority to regulate cigarettes, cigarette tobacco and roll-your-own tobacco, although not pipe tobacco, cigars or e-cigarettes, battery-operated products that produce a vapor containing nicotine that is inhaled.
The law allows the FDA to expand its authority over all tobacco products, but it must first issue new regulations. The FDA has said they are in development.
In a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, attorneys general from 41 states asked the agency to "take all available measures" to issue the rules by the end of October.
"We ask the FDA to move quickly to ensure that all tobacco products are tested and regulated to ensure that companies do not continue to sell or advertise to our nation's youth," they wrote.
A spokeswoman for the FDA, Jennifer Haliski, said the agency could not speculate on when it would release the proposed rule. Earlier this year it gave an estimate of Oct. 31.
All the top tobacco companies including Lorillard, Imperial Tobacco, Reynolds American and Altria are now placing bets on e-cigarettes.
The attorneys general's letter comes less than a week after the American Academy of Pediatrics and 14 other public health organizations, including the American Lung Association and American Heart Association, sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to pressure the FDA into issuing the rules.
In July, the FDA said it might place restrictions on menthol cigarettes following a review that showed the products are likely to be more addictive than regular cigarettes. The agency is seeking public comment.
