The Biden administration plans to ask tobacco companies to reduce the level of nicotine in all cigarettes sold in the United States to levels where they are no longer addicted, according to people familiar with the problem.
Administration officials are considering the policy as they approach a deadline for declaring the administration’s intentions on another tobacco issue: whether or not menthol cigarettes are banned.
The Food and Drug Administration must respond in court by April 29 to the citizens’ petition to ban menthol, revealing whether the agency intends to pursue such a policy. The Biden administration is now weighing whether to go ahead with a ban on menthol or a reduction in nicotine in all cigarettes – or both, said people familiar with the matter.
The White House and the FDA did not immediately comment Monday.
The nicotine reduction policy under consideration would reduce the chemical in cigarettes to non-dependent or minimally dependent levels, aiming to push millions of smokers to quit or switch to less harmful alternatives, such as nicotine gums, pills or cigarettes. electronic. Meanwhile, banning menthol would aim to limit the onset of smoking among young people, many of whom start with menthol. Both policies would take years to implement and would likely face legal challenges.