US - Federal: On Monday, 27th January, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a
memo directing federal agencies to review financial assistance programmes and temporarily pause related activities in accordance with president Donald Trump’s policies. Yesterday, a federal judge
blocked the freeze, following a lawsuit from nonprofit organisations reliant on federal funding. The judge’s ruling will remain in place until at least 3rd February, when a further hearing is scheduled. While the nicotine industry is not directly affected by Trump’s funding freeze, it could impact government-funded research programmes like the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration’s
NIH-FDA Tobacco Regulatory Science Program. These disruptions may delay studies on nicotine regulation, public health and harm-reduction efforts.