Biden administration to propose cuts to nicotine content in tobacco products
President Joe Biden will recommend that the Food and Drug Administration finalize a proposed rule that nicotine levels must be tamped down to minimally or non-addictive levels, kicking off a lengthy process that includes a public comment period before a final rule can be issued, the Washington Post reported. The timeline for a final rule from regulators could span years. Even after the agency finalizes the proposal, tobacco companies could sue to block it, tying it up in months or years of litigation.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The proposal, which aligns with Biden’s Cancer Moonshot mission to eradicate cancer, will be part of the administration’s "unified agenda," a compilation of planned federal regulatory actions released twice a year.
Biden revived the erstwhile Obama administration’s Cancer Moonshot initiative in February, announcing his administration’s plans to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years by speeding up research and making more treatments available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded a total of $215 million to 86 grant recipients under three national cancer programs: the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, the National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program, and the National Program of Cancer Registries.
The latest move by the Biden administration to regulate tobacco comes about two months after the FDA revealed a regulatory plan for banning the sale of menthol cigarettes and cigars. The proposed rule, currently in the public comment period, could be finalized by 2023, to be implemented the following year.
The initiative to cut nicotine content in tobacco products is years in the making. Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb under the Trump administration set his sights on the tobacco industry in 2017 with a push to mandate lower nicotine levels. But the effort was shelved when Gottlieb left his post in 2017. The current commissioner of the FDA, Dr. Robert Califf, has also signaled his support for Gottlieb’s plan, saying in 2017, “If it works, it will save more lives than anything else the FDA could do.”
