This is probably the start of a long tussle with the tobacco industry. Joe Biden’s administration announced on Tuesday, June 21, as part of a plan to fight cancer, wanting to significantly reduce the nicotine level of cigarettes sold in the United States.
“Nicotine is highly addictive”said in a statement, Robert Califf, the head of the American Medicines Agency (FDA), which regulates the tobacco market and which must present its proposed rules.
“Nicotine addiction in burn products is the primary driver of sustained use of these products”specifies the press release, which adds that “making cigarettes and other burnt tobacco products less or non-addictive would help save lives”.
The initiative is part of a larger health program aimed at reducing the number of cancer deaths, which Mr Biden has promised to reduce by 50% over a period of twenty-five years. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States after cardiovascular disease. Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the country, with 480,000 tobacco-related deaths recorded each year.
Menthol cigarettes in the viewfinder too
These new FDA proposals will be published and open for public comment. Each of these comments – potentially tens of thousands – will need to be investigated, as required by law.
The process is expected to take years and could be delayed by litigation or reversed by an upcoming tobacco lobby-friendly administration.
The FDA, which has long been in favor of reducing nicotine levels in cigarettes, pledged in April 2021 to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes, a measure that “will save hundreds of thousands of lives”. Menthol cigarettes are considered a gateway to smoking, encouraging young people in particular to start smoking, and are associated with greater addiction.
Donald Trump’s administration previously banned most e-cigarette flavors, while exempting menthol. And by the end of 2019, Congress had passed a law raising the minimum age to buy tobacco and e-cigarettes nationwide from 18 to 21.