Biden's Final Opportunity to Address Tobacco: Reducing Nicotine Levels in Cigarettes

Cigarettes could become less addictive if regulations require tobacco companies to reduce nicotine levels.

In its final days of authority, the Biden administration is anticipated to formally propose a nicotine limit in cigarettes. This move would serve as a last-minute effort to counter the tobacco industry after President Joe Biden did not complete a long-held promise to prohibit menthol cigarettes. 

The proposal, expected as early as Monday, is not anticipated to cover tobacco products such as e-cigarettes or nicotine replacement patches and lozenges.

“This is a Hail Mary from the Biden administration to advance a meaningful proposal, or at least initiate one in the administration's waning days,” stated Erika Sward, assistant vice president of national advocacy for the American Lung Association.

While it’s the toxins emitted by combustible tobacco that lead to chronic illnesses and death linked to smoking, it’s nicotine that initially hooks people, keeping them returning.

Exact details of the nicotine level cap proposal have not been disclosed. However, various studies suggest that levels may need to be reduced by up to 95% to render them minimally or non-addictive.

“This would be a historic action by the FDA with the potential to significantly impact public health,” said Dr. Rose Marie Robertson, science and medical officer of the American Heart Association.

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, resulting in over 480,000 deaths annually.

Nearly all smokers began as teenagers. Making cigarettes less addictive could save millions of lives, Sward noted.

A 2018 study by the Food and Drug Administration estimated that a nicotine cap could lead to 16 million fewer people becoming addicted to smoking by 2060. This figure would rise, according to the study’s projection, to 33.1 million by 2100.

If the Biden administration releases the proposed rule next week, it would likely take several years to finalize.

Reducing nicotine in cigarettes would be “game-changing,” Yolonda C. Richardson, president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, stated to New Blend 360. “Few measures would do more to combat chronic diseases like cancer and cardiovascular disease that significantly undermine health in the United States and that the incoming administration has indicated should be a priority to address.”

During President-elect Donald Trump’s first term, the FDA — which has the authority to regulate tobacco — first publicly discussed plans to limit nicotine levels.

In 2017, then-FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb initiated the process by announcing a “comprehensive plan” that included the idea to “regulate nicotine in combustible cigarettes and make them minimally or non-addictive.”

This was partly intended to redirect adult smokers to noncombustible products like e-cigarettes. The 2017 plan also considered regulation of e-cigarette flavors and a menthol product ban. A federal ban on most flavors took effect in 2020, yet menthol remains available.

In an interview this week, Gottlieb stated that addressing smoking rates must be “at the top of the agenda” in any effort to enhance public health and reduce chronic disease.

“There might be no more impactful action we can take than to dramatically reduce smoking rates in this country,” he said.