FDA Proposes Lowering Nicotine Levels in Cigarettes

The FDA has proposed a significant step toward lowering nicotine levels in cigarettes. This reduction would place these and other tobacco products at a minimal or non-addictive level.

Per a press release issued by the FDA, on Jan. 15, 2025, the government organization has issued a proposed rule that would make cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products minimally or non-addictive by limiting their level of nicotine. This rule piggybacks on a 2018 intent statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D.

Gottlieb said seven years ago of the plan, “We’re taking a pivotal step today that could ultimately bring us closer to our vision of a world where combustible cigarettes would no longer create or sustain addiction — making it harder for future generations to become addicted in the first place and allowing more currently addicted smokers to quit or switch to potentially less harmful products.”

He added, “We believe the public health benefits and the potential to save millions of lives, both in the near and long term, support this effort… If this scenario were implemented, this analysis suggests that approximately 5 million additional adult smokers could quit smoking within one year of implementation.”

Today, FDA 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. https://t.co/lxzXUAfZPt pic.twitter.com/paECuxWIAx

— FDA Tobacco (@FDATobacco) January 15, 2025

If the FDA moves forward with this rule, it would make the United States the first country to take steps to prevent and reduce smoking-related diseases and deaths. The FDA believes that scientific evidence backs this rule.

The FDA claims that if the nicotine level of cigarettes and other tobacco products is lowered enough, they can no longer create an addiction. Also, their research indicates that when the nicotine is lowered enough, smokers will not smoke more to compensate. If the rule is finalized, companies would have two years to make necessary changes.

How Much Nicotine Is in a Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products?

Per Healthline, for each cigarette smoked, people will likely inhale around 1.1 to 1.8 milligrams of nicotine. For those who smoke a pack a day, which totals 20 cigarettes, that number increases to 22 to 36 milligrams of nicotine.

While some cigarette brands have nicotine content on the lower end, around 6 milligrams, some have levels as high as 28 milligrams. Nicotine can cause harmful effects on the body, an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac contractions, the release of adrenaline, and increases in the activity of the gastrointestinal tract.

Heart.org reports, “Nicotine may also contribute to the hardening of the arterial walls, which in turn, may lead to a heart attack. This chemical can stay in your body for six to eight hours depending on how often you smoke.”

If this proposed rule is accepted, it could have a great impact on the overall health of those in the United States who are addicted to smoking. Per the FDA’s population health model, by the year 2100, 48 million U.S. youth and young adults could be prevented from smoking. It also states that more than 12.9 million people who smoke cigarettes may cease this habit if the rule is put into place.