Cigarette Health Warnings Effective Date Postponed Again

On May 10, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued an order in the case of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. et al. v. United States Food and Drug Administration et al., No. 6:20-cv-00176 to postpone the effective date of the “Required Warnings for Cigarette Packages and Advertisements” final rule.

The new effective date of the final rule is July 8, 2023. Pursuant to the court order, any obligation to comply with a deadline tied to the effective date is similarly postponed. For example, the FDA strongly encourages entities to submit cigarette plans as soon as possible but no later than Sept. 8, 2022.

This is not the first time the new health warnings have been delayed. The rule was most recently delayed to April 9, 2023, after being postponed multiple times before this over the past few years. The rule was originally supposed to go into effect in 2021.

Additional details on the rule, as well as the new effective date and recommended date for submission of cigarette plans, can be found on the FDA’s website.