Slashing Cigarette Nicotine Levels No Longer on FDA’s Agenda – By Drew Armstrong and Bloomberg (Fortune) / Nov 20 2019
U.S. regulators are hitting the brakes on plans to force tobacco companies to drastically reduce addictive nicotine in cigarettes, retreating on an ambitious public-health initiative, which comes amid increased concerns about nicotine use among young people.
The Department of Health and Human Services has dropped a proposal unveiled two years ago to cut the level of nicotine in cigarettes to non-addictive levels, according to a regulatory document published on Wednesday.
Abandoning the plan, which almost certainly would have meant a sharp reduction in tobacco sales, would be a major victory for the tobacco industry. The move also comes at a time when public debate is focused on the potential for e-cigarettes to create a new generation of nicotine addicts.
Representatives for the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Shares of Altria Group Inc., the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, rose 3.1% at 12:55 p.m. in New York. Philip Morris International Inc. rose 1%.
In a notice posted on a government website earlier this year as part of the Food and Drug Administration’s near-term regulatory goals, the agency said the policy “would have significant public health benefits for youth, young adults, and adults, as well as potentially vast economic benefits.”
Continue to article: https://fortune.com/2019/11/20/fda-nicotine-plan-cigarettes-no-longer-on-agenda/
