The five major U.S. cigarette manufacturers contend that the Food & Drug Administration exceeded its legal authority when it proposed regulations aimed at restricting sales to minors and claiming jurisdiction over nicotine as a drug.
Here is Brown & Williamson's summary of the tobacco companies' arguments against the proposed regulations.
Brown & Williamson contends that the FDA is incorrect in equating smoking with nicotine use. As Brown & Williamson points out, "Smokers want cigarettes, not nicotine delivery systems." Also, the consistency in nicotine delivery by different brands and different batches from year to year is "no more remarkable for cigarette manufacturers to achieve this than the consistency of quality achieved by any other producer of a consumer product based on an agricultural commodity, such as manufacturers of coffees, frozen orange juice or applesauce."
