Yootech：US tobacco product packaging regulations again postponed to July 2022

On July 13, according to foreign reports, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked cigarette manufacturers to postpone the effective date of printing graphic health warnings on their products for another three months to July 13, 2022.

It is reported that this is at least the fourth delay of graphic warning labels, including June 18, October 16, 2021 and January 14, April 14, 2022.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the final rule in March 2020, requiring cigarettes to have new graphical warnings. This rule requires labels to include some known health risks such as diabetes. Graphic warnings must cover the first 50% of the front and rear panels of the package and at least 20% of the top of the advertisement.

In April 2020 and may 2020, cigarette manufacturers and retailers sued the FDA, arguing that the graphic warning requirement was equivalent to the government's anti smoking propaganda, because the government never forced manufacturers of legitimate products to use their own advertisements to spread emotional messages, urging adults not to use their products.

Novel coronavirus pneumonia is a recent challenge. Tobacco companies believes that due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia pandemic, the deadline is too long. They also pointed out that if the graphic health warning requirement is removed in court, they may lose investment in new packaging.

"These resources spent to meet the requirements of the rules constitute an irreparable loss, because if the rules and / or graphic warning requirements in the tobacco control law are invalid, the plaintiff will not be able to obtain money loss," the two companies said in a legal document

In March 2021, a Texas District Court judge approved the plaintiff's motion and postponed the effective date of the final rule to April 14, 2022. In May 2021, the court postponed the final rule for another 90 days.