The administration of the president of the United States, Joe Biden, is evaluating the possibility of requiring tobacco companies to reduce nicotine levels in all cigarettes sold in the country, to levels that are no longer addictive. The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the affair.
Biden staff is considering a measure to that effect as it approaches a deadline by which the administration will have to decide on another tobacco issue, namely whether or not to ban menthol cigarettes.
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – the federal agency that regulates food and pharmaceutical products – must respond in court by April 29 to a popular petition against menthol flavoring.
According to the sources cited by the Wsj, the Biden administration is now considering whether to pursue a ban on this issue or a reduction of nicotine in all cigarettes or both at the same time. The goal of the anti-nicotine initiative is to push millions of smokers to quit or switch to less harmful alternatives such as nicotine gum, pills or e-cigarettes. Menthol, on the other hand, is considered a source of attraction for younger people, and would induce them to start smoking. According to the Wall Street newspaper, both initiatives would take years to complete, facing more than likely legal challenges.
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