Editing Food and Drug Administration (section)

===Tobacco products===
The FDA regulates [[tobacco products]] with authority established by the 2009 [[Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm194423.htm |title=Does FDA have the authority to regulate tobacco products? |publisher=Food and Drug Administration |access-date=December 16, 2019 |archive-date=November 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114204636/https://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm194423.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> This Act requires color warnings on cigarette packages and printed advertising, and text warnings from the [[Surgeon General of the United States|U.S. Surgeon General]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/health/cigarette-makers-fda-clash-over-new-graphic-ads/ |work=Fox News |title=Cigarette Makers, FDA Clash Over New Graphic Ads |date=September 22, 2011 |access-date=October 13, 2011 |archive-date=October 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008214526/http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/09/22/cigarette-makers-fda-clash-over-new-graphic-ads/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The nine new graphic warning labels were announced by the FDA in June 2011 and were scheduled to be required to appear on packaging by September 2012. The implementation date is uncertain, due to ongoing proceedings in the case of ''R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/ucm259214.htm |publisher=Food and Drug Administration |title=Overview: Cigarette Health Warnings |access-date=August 30, 2012 |archive-date=September 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120909034823/http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/ucm259214.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> [[R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company|R.J. Reynolds]], [[Lorillard]], [[Imperial Tobacco|Commonwealth Brands]], [[Liggett Group]] and [[Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company]] have filed suit in [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia|Washington, D.C. federal court]] claiming that the graphic labels are an [[unconstitutional]] way of forcing tobacco companies to engage in anti-smoking advocacy on the government's behalf.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/09/12/fda-defends-new-graphic-cigarette-labels/ |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | vauthors = Koppel N |title=FDA Defends New Graphic Cigarette Labels |date=September 12, 2011 |url-access=subscription |access-date=August 4, 2017 |archive-date=July 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709181720/https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/09/12/fda-defends-new-graphic-cigarette-labels/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

A [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] lawyer, [[Floyd Abrams]], is representing the tobacco companies in the case, contending requiring graphic warning labels on a lawful product cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/big-tobacco-gets-top-first-amendment-lawyer-new-suit-134200 |title=Big Tobacco Gets Top First Amendment Lawyer for New Suit |work=AdWeek |date=August 18, 2011 |access-date=March 14, 2015 |archive-date=April 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411073933/http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/big-tobacco-gets-top-first-amendment-lawyer-new-suit-134200 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Association of National Advertisers]] and the [[American Advertising Federation]] have also filed a brief in the suit, arguing that the labels infringe on commercial free speech and could lead to further government intrusion if left unchallenged.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.csnews.com/product-categories/tobacco/tobacco-cos-get-allies-warning-label-fight |title=Tobacco Cos. Get Allies in Warning Label Fight |work=Convenience Store News |date=September 19, 2011 |access-date=March 14, 2015 |archive-date=January 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112022328/http://www.csnews.com/product-categories/tobacco/tobacco-cos-get-allies-warning-label-fight |url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2011, Federal judge [[Richard J. Leon|Richard Leon]] of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia temporarily halted the new labels, likely delaying the requirement that tobacco companies display the labels. The [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] ultimately could decide the matter.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204554204577024040240467970 |work=The Wall Street Journal | vauthors = Esterl M |title=Judge Temporarily Blocks Graphic Cigarette Labels |date=November 8, 2011 |url-access=subscription |access-date=August 3, 2017 |archive-date=July 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709173439/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204554204577024040240467970 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 2017, the FDA announced a plan that would reduce the current levels of nicotine permitted in tobacco cigarettes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/07/28/540088353/fda-announces-plan-to-cut-level-of-nicotine-allowed-in-cigarettes |title=FDA Announces Plan To Cut Level Of Nicotine Allowed In Cigarettes |website=[[NPR]] |access-date=April 4, 2018 |archive-date=March 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320032301/https://www.npr.org/2017/07/28/540088353/fda-announces-plan-to-cut-level-of-nicotine-allowed-in-cigarettes |url-status=live}}</ref> The proposed regulation, identified as RIN 0910-AI76, titled ''"Tobacco Product Standard for Nicotine Yield of Cigarettes and Certain Other Combusted Tobacco Products,"'' seeks to reduce the nicotine content in cigarettes to approximately 0.7 milligrams per gram of tobacco.