Tobacco manufacturers will most likely receive a three-month reprieve in instituting a new set of 11 cigarette graphic warning labels, extending the date from June 18, 2021, to October 16, 2021.
In March, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) signed off on the new graphic warning labels for cigarettes which are somewhat toned down from the original “gory warnings” mandated in 2012.
However, the new labels cover the top 50% of the front and rear panels of packages, as well as at least 20% of the top of advertisements.
In an unusual alliance, FDA and major cigarette manufacturers filed a joint motion to extend the deadline on instituting the new warning labels by 120 days. The manufacturers said the pandemic has complicated their ability to meet the June 18, 2021, deadline. FDA apparently agrees that the current coronavirus pandemic is a hardship in planning for packaging implementation by manufacturers by the deadline next year.
Separate from the joint FDA/industry motion, Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, ITG Brands, and Liggett Group filed a joint motion requesting a preliminary injunction on implementing the labels and a ruling to prohibit enforcement. The manufacturers repeated their claims that the labels violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
This is the second time in one month that the FDA has sided in some ways with the tobacco industry due to the effects of the coronavirus. On April 23, the manufacturers received a 120-day extension — from May 12, 2020, until Sept. 9, 2020 — for filing premarket applications with FDA for electronic cigarettes and other next-generation products.