Tobacco companies Reynolds American, Lorillard and the Altria Group dropped their lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration. The original allegations charged the federal agency with overstepping its powers by keeping a careful watch on product labels after promising to reconsider regulations.

The FDA announced on May 29 that it would reconsider whether to require tobacco companies to seek prior approval for changes to the packaging. This includes colors, logos and descriptive text.

Claims such as those stating one tobacco product was safer than other brands or varieties are regulated by the 2009 Tobacco Control Act. Tobacco companies stated their belief that this act does not permit the FDA to regulate images, colors or other text on labels of their products. They claimed that such regulations violated their First Amendment rights to free speech.

The Food and Drug Administration responded to the charges by stating it will not act against tobacco companies that create new packaging for existing products or that only changes the quantity sold in each package. In light of this stated position by the federal agency, the big tobacco companies are dropping their litigation.

"The FDA said the interim policy would remain in place while the agency decides whether to adopt new label approval procedures ... Altria spokesman Brian May said there was no need to pursue the lawsuit in light of the FDA's announcement," Jessica Dye and Jonathan Stempel wrote for Reuters News Service.

Altria owns Phillip Morris, the largest tobacco company in the United States. The company produces brands such as Marlboro, Parliament and Virginia Slims cigarettes.

Reynolds American, the second-largest American manufacturer of tobacco products, is the parent company of R.J. Reynolds and American Snuff Company. The producers of Camel, Cool and Pall Mall cigarettes has experienced public outcry in the past about its advertising. Its advertising character, the camel Joe Camel, was appealing to many children, critics charged. The company denied the advertising mascot was aimed at children, saying the laid-back cartoon camel was meant to appeal to adults.

Lorillard, producers of Kents, Newports and Maverick cigarettes, was recently purchased by Reynolds. On May 26, the purchase won approval from federal regulators, who ruled that merging the nation's second- and third-largest tobacco companies did not violate antitrust laws in the United States. Following this purchase, there are now just two major tobacco companies left producing the vast majority of the market, which totaled 264 billion cigarettes in 2014.

The original lawsuit against the FDA was filed in April 2015.

Photo: Victor Camilo | Flickr