On its way out the door, the Biden administration has proposed a rule that would effectively ban cigarettes by requiring a drastic reduction in nicotine content. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which unveiled the proposed rule on Wednesday, says the aim is to make cigarettes unappealing by eliminating their "psychoactive and reinforcing effects." In addition to cigarettes, the FDA's proposed rule covers cigarette tobacco, pipe tobacco (except shisha for waterpipes), and cigars (except for "premium" cigars).

In likely one of its last attempts to address the public health threat posed by smoking, the Biden administration on Wednesday proposed a new rule that would greatly limit the level of nicotine that would be allowed to be contained in combustible tobacco products. “Cigarettes are a financial burden, both to individuals who smoke and everyone else,” said Laurent Huber, executive director of anti-smoking advocacy organization, Action on Smoking and Health, in a statement. “The total annual cost of tobacco in the U.S. is $436 billion, or $1,100 per person....

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking to curb the level of nicotine that cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products can contain. The agency is looking to do so through a rule proposed Wednesday that FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said "could save many lives and dramatically reduce the burden of severe illness and disability, while also saving huge amounts of money" if finalized. Cigarettes and "certain other combusted tobacco products" would not be allowed to have more than 0.7 milligrams of nicotine per gram of tobacco under the...

Health officials are pushing to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes and other tobacco products to “minimally or nonaddictive” levels in a bid to “tackle one of the deadliest consumer products in history.” On Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed a rule to cap nicotine levels at 0.7 milligrams per gram of tobacco in cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products, including cigars and pipe tobacco. The proposal comes nearly seven years after former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb first announced the agency’s plans to make it “harder for future generations...

The Biden administration's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took a significant new step on Wednesday that would effectively ban cigarettes currently on the market in favor of those with lower levels of nicotine. "Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a proposed rule that, if finalized, would make cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products minimally or nonaddictive by limiting the level of nicotine in those products. If finalized, the United States would be the first country globally to take such a bold, life-saving action to prevent and reduce...

Federal officials on Wednesday released a far-reaching proposal to make cigarettes less addictive by capping their nicotine content, a goal long sought by antismoking advocates that is unlikely to go into effect anytime soon. The proposed rule from the Food and Drug Administration comes in the final days of President Joe Biden’s term, greatly reducing the likelihood that it will actually be enacted. President-elect Donald Trump and his health nominees have not commented on the measure, but a similar effort led by Trump’s first FDA commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, was...

The Biden administration is poised to try to lower the amount of nicotine in tobacco products, an eleventh-hour effort that’s been years in the making. The move would give the White House one last chance to try to regulate tobacco, as it previously punted on finalizing a long-standing pledge to ban menthol-flavored cigarettes. The rule has not been made public, so the specific language isn’t known, but it’s expected to require tobacco companies to slash the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and potentially other products to make them less addictive....