In June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced plans to develop a proposed product standard by May 2023 that would establish a maximum nicotine level in combustible tobacco products and reduce their addictiveness. The same month, the agency ordered electronic cigarette company Juul to immediately stop selling its products in the U.S., but later suspended the order pending further review. And on July 13, the FDA announced that any new synthetic nicotine product that has not received premarket authorization from the agency cannot be legally marketed. Here, experts from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health discuss the public health implications of these actions.