The Food and Drug Administration declared cigarettes to be “the only legal product that can kill half of all long-term consumers when used as intended.”
The agency has not yet regulated nicotine, the notoriously addictive component in cigarettes aEUR”, and it has been trying to do so for many years. It seems that the time is now.
FDA will soon set a maximum nicotine content in cigarettes and other tobacco products. This is to reduce addiction and discourage smoking. Despite a general trend away from tobacco, it remains the number one cause of death in the U.S. The number one cause of preventable death in the U.S.
Robert M. Califf, FDA Commissioner, stated that lowering nicotine levels to a minimally addictive or non-addictive level would reduce the chance of future generations becoming addicted to cigarettes. He also said that it would help more current smokers quit.
The FDA outlines the potential benefits by noting that 480,000 people are killed each year due to diseases caused by smoking. It estimates that tobacco use is responsible for nearly $300 billion in annual direct health care costs and productivity losses.
The new rule will take effect May 2023.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids praised what it called a “truly historic proposal” in an email to NPR. The group stated that the FDA’s recent push for bans on menthol cigarettes or flavored cigars would make the changes “greatly reduce the appeal to cigarettes, especially for kids, and ensure these products cannot create or sustain addiction.”
The cigarette companies, for their part have tried to adapt to changes in regulations and consumer preferences. Altria, which includes Philip Morris USA, has stated previously that it is in agreement with the FDA and believes that cigarettes are less harmful than nicotine for addicted smokers.
Altria and the other tobacco companies want smokers to quit smoking aEUR”, and nicotine aEUR”, and instead, they want them to be customers for other tobacco products.
For decades, the tobacco industry has fought to stop federal efforts to regulate cigarettes.
“Cigarettes were subject to less federal oversight than pet food and makeup,” NPR’s Fresh Air reported. This is partly due to a 2000 Supreme Court ruling that said that the Food and Drug Administration could not regulate nicotine without congressional approval.
In 2009, Congress approved a bill that gave the FDA control over tobacco products and cigarettes. In 2017, the FDA appeared to be at the brink of new regulations, and published a proposal rule in 2018. The FDA dropped the proposal in 2019 and the rule was eventually canceled.
