FDA Plans to Greatly Reduce Nicotine in Cigarettes
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is aiming to reduce nicotine in cigarettes to 0.7 milligrams per gram, which is a dramatic decrease from the current 17.2 milligram average.
With these tough restrictions, officials believe many smokers will move to safer alternatives or give up smoking. They expect 12.9 million people could quit smoking in just the first year. By year five, that number might reach 19.5 million.
“By reducing nicotine levels in cigarettes and certain other combustible tobacco products, the FDA would take a major step to protect public health from an industry whose addictive products kill nearly half a million people in this country every year,” said Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, in a statement.
The rules will impact regular cigarettes, roll tobacco, cigars, and pipe tobacco. Companies must follow these guidelines within two years of implementation.
While cigarettes won’t be completely banned, some illegal products might emerge. The FDA supports its move with NIH research showing reduced nicotine helps break addiction cycles. The overall goal is to make cigarettes less addictive while keeping them available for purchase.
This isn’t the first attempt at such changes. A similar proposal fell through during the first Trump administration. Some companies like 22nd Century Group already know how to cut nicotine by modifying tobacco plants’ genes.
These new regulations would mark the biggest change in tobacco control in years. Smoking still ranks as the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S.
