The U.S. government told a court on March 27 that it has canceled all remaining layoffs at the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Tobacco Products (CTP).
As a result, 229 employees who review tobacco product applications and do other work, have been brought back to their jobs.
The government’s filing was made in a lawsuit brought in 2025 by a coalition of state attorneys general that led to a preliminary injunction halting mass layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its agencies.
In May 2025, New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a federal lawsuit challenging what they called the “unconstitutional dismantling” of HHS.
The move comes amid scrutiny of the FDA’s operations. In September the FDA launched a pilot program that aims to ease the review process for premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) for nicotine pouch products.
“The reinstatement of staff at the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products is a positive step for public health and helps ensure the center has the staff needed to carry out its essential work in accordance with federal law,” Yolonda C. Richardson, president and CEO, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a statement. “This includes stepping up enforcement against the many illegal products, especially e-cigarettes, now on the market, and conducting evidence-based reviews of marketing applications for new tobacco products.”
The CTP is responsible for carrying out the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act that Congress passed in 2009 that places tobacco under the authority of the federal FDA.
CSP reached out to the FDA for comment but did not receive a reply by posting time.
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