Biden administration is considering rule to cut nicotine in cigarettes

The Food and Drug Administration must respond to a petition from citizens to ban menthols in court by April 29 by disclosing whether the agency intends to pursue such a policy. The Biden administration is now considering whether to move forward with a menthol ban or a nicotine cut on all cigarettes – or both, the people familiar with the matter said.

The White House and FDA did not immediately comment on Monday.

Current nicotine reduction policies would reduce the chemical in cigarettes to non-addictive or minimally addictive levels, with the aim of getting millions of smokers to quit or switch to less harmful alternatives such as nicotine gum, lozenges or e-cigarettes. A menthol ban, meanwhile, would aim at curbing smoking initiation among young people, many of whom are starting menthols. Implementation of both policies would take years and would likely face legal challenges.

Scott Gottlieb, an FDA commissioner under the Trump administration, aimed for both a menthol ban and a reduction in nicotine in cigarettes as part of a broader tobacco policy he proposed in 2017. But after he left the agency in 2019, both plans were shelved.

New Zealand last week proposed to sharply reduce the nicotine levels in cigarettes and raise the legal smoking age as part of a broader policy of quitting smoking.

According to the FDA, nicotine itself does not cause cancer, heart disease, or lung disease. But it hooks people to cigarettes, which are linked to 480,000 deaths in the US every year.

Tobacco companies have said that any change in the nicotine yield of cigarettes should be supported by scientific research and account for potential consequences, such as increased black market sales.

Research funded by the FDA and the National Institutes of Health has shown that when nicotine was nearly eliminated from cigarettes, smokers were more likely to quit or seek a nicotine fix from less harmful alternatives such as e-cigarettes or gum, compared to smokers who continued. the use of cigarettes with a normal nicotine content.

Lowering nicotine in cigarettes has been a topic of debate within the FDA since the 1990s. It can be done in a variety of ways, such as genetically modifying tobacco plants or stripping nicotine from the leaf during the manufacturing process. In 2009, the Tobacco Control Act authorized the FDA to mandate such a change, stipulating that the policy must be based on scientific evidence.

A ban on menthols has been in the sights of the FDA for years.

The Tobacco Control Act banned candy, fruit, and spice flavors in cigarettes because of their potential appeal to children, but it left the menthol issue insecure. Under the 2009 law, the FDA could only ban menthols if it could show that a ban was a net public health benefit, taking into account possible unintended consequences, such as an illegal market. Since then, the agency has been working to overcome that hurdle.

The FDA concluded in 2013 that menthols are more difficult to quit and likely pose a greater health risk than regular cigarettes. The agency said cigarette use was likely associated with increased initiation to smoking by youth and young adults.

Naturally occurring in mint plants, menthol has been added to cigarettes since the 1920s. It provides a cooling sensation in the mouth and throat, similar to that of a menthol cough drop. Health officials have said this eases throat irritation caused by cigarette smoke, making menthols more attractive to young people and those who have never smoked.

The tobacco industry has rejected the FDA’s findings on menthol. Menthols represent about one-third of the 226 billion cigarettes sold in the country annually and are popular among teenagers and African-American smokers, federal data shows.

—Stephanie Armor and Andrew Restuccia contributed to this article.

Write to Jennifer Maloney at [email protected]