The warning

Cosmetic or drug

On this page12

Two schemes, one jar The warning in this property is a cosmetic requirement And the drug route has its own panel Claims are what move a product between them So the copy decision precedes the container decision This property does not make the determination Nor does it address the ingredient Or state law What it does give you And the two schemes are not a menu Settle the scheme first References

Part 740 is cosmetic labeling. A claim can move a product out of it.

Two schemes, one jar

A topical can be assessed as a cosmetic or as a drug, and the labeling requirements differ substantially between them.

The warning in this property is a cosmetic requirement

It sits in part 740, which is cosmetic labeling. Nothing on these pages says it reaches a product assessed otherwise.

And the drug route has its own panel

The hair care property covers it: an over-the-counter monograph and a Drug Facts panel with its own content and proportion rules, which are far more demanding of label area.

Claims are what move a product between them

Which is a marketing copy decision with a labeling consequence, the same shape as the representation element in the adjacent botanicals property.

So the copy decision precedes the container decision

Because a Drug Facts panel needs far more room than a cosmetic warning, and 49 of the 106 containers here are wider than they are tall.

This property does not make the determination

Not for any product and not for any claim. It is a question for someone qualified, and the answer changes which rules apply.

Nor does it address the ingredient

Whether a cannabinoid is permitted in a cosmetic, and what federal agencies have said about it, is outside this property entirely.

Or state law

Which differs state by state for these products and which a national catalog cannot speak to.

What it does give you

An exact warning string, an exact minimum letter height, the dimensions of every container, and an honest account of what is not on the shelf.

A maker does not choose which one applies. The product and the claims decide it, and the labeling follows from the decision rather than informing it.

Settle the scheme first

Then plan the panel, then pick the container. Doing it in the other order means discovering a panel will not fit after the mold has been chosen.

References

21 CFR 740.10, headed "Labeling of cosmetic products for which adequate substantiation of safety has not been obtained." A product without adequate substantiation of safety must bear the statement "Warning--The safety of this product has not been determined." Paragraph (b) of the section sets out when the warning is not required, turning on safety having been substantiated previously, new information not demonstrating a hazard, and adequate studies being underway. Part 740 is cosmetic labeling, and whether a particular topical is a cosmetic or a drug is not determined here. law.cornell.edu

The Davis Pack Supply catalog, measured 19 October 2026. 486 rows: 106 containers and 380 closures, and unlike the other cannabis groups this one has its own shelf. 15 to 237 mL with a median of 118; 89 over an ounce, 63 over 4 oz. 60 PP and 46 glass. 84 jars, 17 bottles, 4 tubs and pails, 1 tube. 28 white, 26 clear, 17 natural, 13 black, 12 amber, 6 blue, 4 frosted. Diameter is recorded on 97 containers at 1.0625 to 4.5 inches, median 2.37; height on 104 at 1.25 to 5.38 inches, median 2.5; and 49 of the 106 are wider than they are tall. Liners on the closures: 119 heat induction seal, 51 F217, 47 pressure sensitive, 33 No Liner, 32 Plastis standard, 30 unrecorded, 27 foam, 25 PE foam. Buyability, a snapshot: 72 available, 33 not, 1 unrecorded; 34 quote only; 47 full case only.

Written from 21 CFR 740.2 and 740.10 and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. Part 740 is cosmetic labeling; whether a particular topical is a cosmetic or a drug is a determination not made here, and nothing on these pages addresses whether a cannabinoid is permitted in a cosmetic or what any state requires. The 1/16 inch minimum is stated as the regulation states it and no fit is computed, because character width depends on a typeface we do not publish. Availability figures are a single snapshot.