The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) issued a statement on May 7, 2026, outlining new measures to improve the efficiency and speed of premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) reviews. Acting CTP Director stated that the agency has significantly reduced application backlogs and introduced procedural improvements to accelerate acceptance, filing, and scientific review processes for tobacco and nicotine products. According to the FDA, PMTA applications now move into the initial acceptance review phase almost immediately after submission, eliminating previous delays that sometimes-lasted months or years. The agency also announced efforts to streamline filing reviews, separate eligible products within submissions for faster marketing granted orders (MGOs) and establish expedited review pathways for supplemental PMTAs involving modifications to already authorized products. The FDA further highlighted progress under its nicotine pouch pilot program launched in September 2025, which resulted in authorizations for six nicotine pouch products within three months. The agency stated that lessons learned from the pilot will be incorporated into broader PMTA review processes to improve efficiency while maintaining scientific review standards.
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