FDA moves forward with plan to cap nicotine levels in cigarettes

On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its intention to move forward with a proposed rule that would institute lowering cigarette nicotine levels, however the menthol ban is not moving forward.

The proposed rule would effectively institute a mandate for Very Low-Nicotine products (VLN). According to the FDA, this mandate would lower nicotine levels by 96%.  

“The Biden administration’s proposal to slash nicotine levels in cigarettes is misguided and dangerous,”  US Rep. Pat Harrigan, NC-10, told the Carolina Journal. “While it may sound like a public health win, this rule will create unintended consequences that devastate communities and small businesses. By effectively banning most major cigarettes on the market, the administration is handing a gift to black market operators and fueling crime in our neighborhoods.”

The proposed rule was first announced in 2018, and it has been a long time coming. According to the FDA announcement, the rule would not ban cigarettes or tobacco products but propose a cap on nicotine levels of 0.7 milligrams per gram of tobacco.

“Multiple administrations have acknowledged the immense opportunity that a proposal of this kind offers to address the burden of tobacco-related disease,” FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, MD, said in a press release.  “Today’s proposal envisions a future where it would be less likely for young people to use cigarettes and more individuals who currently smoke could quit or switch to less harmful products. This action, if finalized, could save many lives and dramatically reduce the burden of severe illness and disability, while also saving huge amounts of money. I hope we can all agree that significantly reducing the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S. is an admirable goal we should all work toward.”

If the proposed rule is approved, it would dramatically impact the economy of North Carolina, the nation’s leading tobacco-producing state, and the state’s No. 1 industry, agriculture, in which tobacco plays a considerable role. North Carolina has 822 tobacco-producing farms, which produce a revenue of $557 million and add $197 million to the state’s GDP,  according to Regulatory Smoke: The Economic Impacts Of Proposed FDA Tobacco Regulations, a report commissioned by the John Locke Foundation. 

“We’ve seen this before—prohibition doesn’t work,” Harrigan continued. “It punishes law-abiding adults, harms local economies, and sets a precedent for government overreach. If they can dictate what’s in cigarettes today, what will they come for tomorrow? This isn’t just about nicotine—it’s about protecting freedom and stopping bureaucrats from running our lives.”

Agriculture experts and state lawmakers in North Carolina’s top five tobacco-producing counties (Nash, Johnston, Sampson, Harnett, and Wilson) have commented extensively on the proposed rule’s economic impact on their constituents. 

“The Biden administration – if it approves these new standards – would deliver a crushing blow to North Carolina’s tobacco industry,” said Brian Balfour, VP of research at the John Locke Foundation. “Agriculture is North Carolina’s largest industry, and tobacco is a major part of that. Tens of thousands of jobs will potentially be lost, along will billions in output. Countless farms will be forced to scramble to find alternative uses of their land, not always an easy or inexpensive task. As the nation’s leader in tobacco farming, North Carolina has the most to lose from this new rule the Biden administration is trying to force through in Biden’s final days in office.”

The post FDA moves forward with plan to cap nicotine levels in cigarettes first appeared on Carolina Journal.

 

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