Biden administration says it plans to cut nicotine to nonaddictive levels in cigarettes

The Biden administration said Tuesday it plans to develop a proposed rule requiring tobacco companies to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes sold in the United States to minimally or nonaddictive levels, an effort, that if successful, could have an unprecedented effect in slashtablish ing smoking-related deaths and threaten a politically powerful industry.

The initiative was included in the administration’s “unified agenda,” a compilation of planned federal regulatory actions released twice a year. The spring agenda was released Tuesday.

The administration said the Food and Drug Administration intends to develop a proposed tobacco product standard “that would esa maximum nicotine level in cigarettes and certain finished tobacco products.”

Such a step, the administration said, would reduce addictiveness of certain tobacco products and give addicted users a greater ability to quit as well as help prevent young people from becoming regular smokers.

“The proposed product standard is anticipated to benefit the population as a whole while also advancing health equity by addressing disparities associated with cigarette smoking, dependence, and cessation,” the administration said.

The policy would fit with a major goal of the White House — to cut cancer deaths. As part of the White House’s retooled cancer moonshot announced this year, President Biden promised to reduce cancer death rates by 50% over 25 years. About 480,000 Americans die of smoking-related causes each year, and tobacco use remains the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States.

The decision to pursue a policy to lower nicotine levels marks the first step in a lengthy process, and success is not assured. It could take at least a year for the FDA, which regulates cigarettes, to issue a proposed rule, experts say. After that, the FDA would have to sift through comments from the public before issuing a final rule.

Opposition could delay or derail the effort — especially if the regulation was not completed before Biden left office.