Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/boundvolumes/529bv.pdf
Page Number: 267

529US1

Unit: $U36

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FDA v. BROWN & WILLIAMSON TOBACCO CORP.

Breyer, J., dissenting

nothing more than an intent not to change the jurisdictional
status quo.

The upshot is that the Court today holds that a regulatory
statute aimed at unsafe drugs and devices does not authorize
regulation of a drug (nicotine) and a device (a cigarette) that
the Court itself ﬁnds unsafe. Far more than most, this par-
ticular drug and device risks the life-threatening harms that
administrative regulation seeks to rectify. The majority’s
conclusion is counterintuitive. And, for the reasons set
forth, I believe that the law does not require it.

Consequently, I dissent.