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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed a new rule to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes and other combustible tobacco products to minimally or non-addictive levels. Announced on Wednesday (January 15), the proposal aims to make cigarettes less addictive, helping millions quit smoking and preventing new addictions.
The FDA estimates that reducing nicotine could lead 12.9 million people to quit smoking within the first year and 19.5 million within five years. The agency also projects that the rule could prevent 1.8 million tobacco-related deaths by 2060 and 4.3 million deaths by the end of the century. The proposed rule would cap nicotine levels at 0.7 milligrams per gram of tobacco, significantly lower than the average of 17.2 mg per gram found in the top 100 cigarette brands in 2017.
Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, praised the FDA's move as a major step in protecting public health. She emphasized the importance of educating the public that even reduced-nicotine cigarettes remain harmful.
"It is crucial for the FDA to establish nicotine reduction levels that maximize quitting and reduce initiation of youth smoking. The public must also be made aware that even reduced-nicotine cigarettes remain harmful and deadly products," Brown said in a statement.
The proposed rule does not ban cigarettes but aims to reduce their addictiveness. It applies to cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco, most cigars, and pipe tobacco, but excludes e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and smokeless tobacco. The FDA will gather public comments on the proposal until September 15, 2025, before finalizing the rule.