The Biden administration announced Wednesday a proposal to lower the nicotine levels in cigarettes, a plan that could significantly reduce cancer rates nationwide and extend the lives of millions of smokers. This is a last-minute promotion.
If ultimately passed, the proposal would require cigarette manufacturers to significantly reduce nicotine levels in their products to make smoking less addictive and satisfying. Research suggests the measure would reduce the number of people with the habit and help the country's roughly 30 million smokers quit or switch to less harmful alternatives like e-cigarettes. There is.
The policy is at the heart of Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Robert Calif's anti-smoking efforts. During his medical career, Dr. Khalif details the treatment of heart patients ravaged by smoking.
“This is the biggest thing I've ever seen in terms of societal benefits, cost savings and lives saved, and stroke prevention and cancer prevention,” Dr. Khalif said.
The policy's accompanying effort to ban menthol cigarettes was put on hold indefinitely after fierce opposition from other opponents, including cigarette manufacturers and convenience store retailers.
It's unclear whether the nicotine reduction plan will survive the administration of President-elect Donald J. Trump. Mr. Trump has traditionally been pro-industry and opposed to heavily regulating companies. He also has the backing of tobacco companies, including Reynolds American, which donated at least $8 million to Trump's main super PAC during the presidential campaign. Reynolds has already expressed opposition to the proposed requirements.
Mr. Trump's campaign co-chair and incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is a former lobbyist for cigar manufacturer Swisher. This rule applies to cigarettes, hand-rolled tobacco, pipe tobacco, and cigars (excluding premium cigars).
Some public health advocates are hopeful that the Trump administration will allow the proposal to move forward, given that the FDA considered an earlier version during President Trump's first term. . At least authorities could continue to allow the public to comment on the initiative without canceling it or enforcing it.
The FDA's proposal includes a projection that nicotine reduction measures would prevent an estimated 48 million young people from starting to smoke by 2100. The agency also estimates that 1.8 million tobacco-related deaths will be prevented by 2060, resulting in $30 trillion in benefits over 40 years, most of which will come from future generations who never start smoking.
Dorothy Hatsukami, a tobacco researcher at the University of Minnesota who has studied low-nicotine cigarettes, said: “There are highly toxic and highly addictive tobacco products on the market that still kill nearly 500,000 people a year.” says. For about 15 years. “So it's a really unfortunate situation that we haven't done anything dramatically about it.”
In 2022, Dr. Khalif published his latest proposal to lower nicotine levels, but opposition quickly began to grow.
Tobacco companies see this initiative as a major threat to their business. Luis Pinto, a spokesman for Reynolds American, said the proposal would “effectively eliminate legal cigarettes and stimulate an already large illicit nicotine market.”
“These measures will have a significant negative economic impact on farmers, retailers and others,” he added.
Convenience store retailers also opposed an earlier version of the proposal, saying the expected drop in cigarette sales would significantly reduce revenue.
Congressional Republicans are also trying to block nicotine concentration limits. In 2023, members of an influential House subcommittee passed a bill that would prohibit the FDA from spending money to advance nicotine restrictions, with the support of nearly all Republicans. The Senate did not include this provision in the final budget bill.
Still, supporters of the plan argue that Robert F. It points to signs that authorities may accept the plan. Top health institution in the country. Trump himself has said that he personally opposes smoking.
“Given these significant benefits, we urge the incoming Trump administration to move forward with the finalization and implementation of this rule,” Yolonda C. Richardson, president of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, said in a statement. said. “There are few efforts as effective as this to combat chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease that greatly impair America's health, and the incoming administration suggests these diseases should be prioritized. ”
