United States: The Biden administration is expected to officially put forward a limit to nicotine in cigarettes in the last days of its term. It would be an eleventh hour act to speak against the tobacco industry after Biden has still not solidify plans to enact a prior campaign promise of eradicating menthol cigarettes, as reported by NBC News.  

A Last-Minute Push Against Tobacco Addiction 

The plan, which may be unveiled as soon as this Monday, is not likely to include methods such as tobacco alternatives or vaping and nicotine gum, patches, and lozenges. 

“This is a Hail Mary from the Biden administration to move forward with a meaningful proposal, or at least to jump-start one in the waning days of the administration,” said Erika Sward, assistant vice president of national advocacy for the American Lung Association. 

The Hook Behind Smoking Addiction 

The chemical compounds that lead to chronic diseases and death for smokers are those found in combustible tobacco, whereas nicotine is the addictive substance that initially engages the smoker and sustains the habit. 

The specific measures regarding the proposed limits of nicotine have not been unveiled. Various researchers have it, however, that it may have to be reduced to as low as 5% for the product to be considered minimally or non-addictive. 

“This would be a historic action by the FDA that has the potential to have an enormous impact on public health,” said Dr. Rose Marie Robertson, science and medical officer of the American Heart Association. 

America’s Leading Preventable Health Threat 

A vast majority of smokers have taken their first cigarette in their teenhood. The move to a lesser addictive cigarette, Sward said, would save millions of lives. 

An academic analysis conducted by the Food and Drug Administration in 2018 showed that the cap on nicotine levels would lead to 16 million people not becoming smokers, to begin with, by 2060. According to that study, it would rise to 33.1 million by the year 2100 at the earliest level. 

That means even if the Biden administration releases the proposed rule next week, it will probably be years before it becomes final. 

Game-Changing Public Health Impact 

Yolanda C. Richardson, president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, told NBC News that limiting the amount of nicotine in cigarettes would be “game-changing.” Few initiatives would make a greater impact on combating chronic illnesses like cancer and heart disease, which significantly impair American health and that the next government has stated should be a top focus. 

Before the FDA announced it was thinking about capping nicotine levels, which it has the right to do, it was during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in office. 

Challenges Ahead for the Proposed Rule 

By announcing a “comprehensive plan” in 2017, then-FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb started the process by proposing to “regulate nicotine in combustible cigarettes and render them minimally or non-addictive.” 

It was also designed, in part, to refocus adult smokers onto non-combustible products like e-cigarettes. The 2017 plan also envisaged regulation of e-cigarette flavors and a total ban on the use of menthol products. In 2020, the federal government approved a restriction on all popular flavors, although menthol is still available. 

Adding to this, in an interview this week, Gottlieb stated that smoking prevalence would have to be “on the list of top priorities of any public health agenda geared towards reducing chronic diseases.” 

“There could be perhaps no more impactful thing we can do than to dramatically reduce smoking rates in this country,” he said. 

United States: The CIA and the Treasury Department do not believe a foreign power has caused the still-unexplained ailments that affected some U.S. diplomats and other officials while posted in Cuba, but two agencies now concede it is possible that an adversary might have developed or even used a weapon to produce the mysterious injuries, as reported by HealthDay. 

The conclusion, which resembles the findings of the earlier probes, stems from a survey of seven intelligence bodies that analyzed the incidences of head impacts and other symptoms expressed by other American diplomats and various other military and governmental personnel who raised the concerns about involvement of a foreign competitor. 

Intelligence Findings 

The new assessment of the situation was unveiled by the U.S. intelligence on Friday. When assessing the data, five intelligence agencies stated that the external enemy’s participation is highly improbable, a U.S. intelligence official told reporters upon the briefing on condition of anonymity since it was the requirement of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. 

Two of the agencies, however, concluded that it could be that a foreign power might have developed, or perhaps used, a weapon that might have caused the injuries reported by the US diplomats and the government officials. 

The Ongoing Mystery 

Headaches, balance problems, and problems with thinking and sleeping were first reported in Cuba in 2016 and in hundreds of American personnel in several countries later in the year. American diplomats stationed in Havana were the first to complain, which prompted the sequence of maladies to be nicknamed Havana syndrome. 

The two agencies, which officials did not name, failed to trace any of these events to a particular foreign technology but came to their conclusions through some understanding of foreign weapons systems development and capabilities. Finally, one of the agencies discovered that the probability was roughly even that a foreign government utilized such a weapon or prototype device in a small, unknown number of cases involving U.S. personnel. 

The other agency concluded that although it might have been developed by another nation, it is still doubtful that it has ever been used. 

The Biden Administration’s Response 

The Biden administration has been under pressure to probe the incidents after the American staff complained of brain injuries and other symptoms after keeping getting attacked in what some call an attempt to attack and harm US personnel operating in a foreign land. However, till now, officials have not been able to pinpoint any one reason for such events. 

Friday revelations issued are a variant of a ‘change in key judgments by some intelligence components’ and require further research, National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said in an email communiqué to journalists. 

“Our focus on these priorities remains unwavering and must continue,” Savett said. “It is vital that the U.S. government continue critical research, investigate credible incidents, and strengthen efforts to provide timely care and long-term clinical follow-up.” 

No Direct Evidence  

The intelligence official who briefed reporters on Friday dismissed the shift, stating that the two agencies that left open the possibility that a foreign government was developing or deploying a weapon that caused the injuries had reported low confidence in their assessment, as reported by HealthDay. 

The official admitted that other NSAs were more sure that foreign governments were not involved and that certain intelligence leads discovered by some of the U.S. intelligence raised doubts about foreign involvement. 

“There’s no intelligence linking a foreign actor to any specific event,” the official told reporters. 

United States: More specifically, in the last days of its term, the current Biden government is speculated to formally offer a threshold on nicotine levels in cigarettes. It would probably be taken at the eleventh hour to counter the tobacco industry after President Joe Biden did not seal a long-standing promise to ban cigarettes containing menthol, as reported by NBC News.  

A Last-Minute Push for Nicotine Regulation 

The change will likely happen until next Monday and will not affect items such as tobacco products such as e-cigarettes or nicotine replacement patches and lozenges. 

“This is a Hail Mary from the Biden administration to move forward with a meaningful proposal, or at least to jump-start one in the waning days of the administration,” said Erika Sward, assistant vice president of national advocacy for the American Lung Association. 

Though people die and get sick from the poisonous chemicals produced by combustible tobacco, it is the nicotine that initially hooks smokers and sustains their addiction. 

Details of the proposal for reducing the levels of nicotine have not been disclosed comprehensively. It was not the end of the year, though, when numerous studies have pointed out that, to achieve the compounds minimally or non-addictively, dosage may have to be reduced by almost 95 percent. 

The Impact of Nicotine Reduction 

“This would be a historic action by the FDA that has the potential to have an enormous impact on public health,” said Dr. Rose Marie Robertson, science and medical officer of the American Heart Association. 

Tobacco use itself is the number one cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, based on the CDC, resulting in more than 480,000 deaths per year. 

Data indicated that the majority of smokers began the habit when they were teenagers. Sward said that any process that could make cigarettes less appealing, less enjoyable, or less satisfying would save millions of lives. 

An FDA study carried out in 2018 found that a nicotine cap would reduce smoking addiction cases to 16 million people in the year 2060. It would rise to 33.1 million in 2100, based on the study’s estimate. 

Even if the Biden administration issues the proposed rule early next week, it may take several years to become final. 

Yolonda C. Richardson, president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, told NBC News that limiting the amount of nicotine in cigarettes would be “game-changing.” Few initiatives would make a greater impact on combating chronic illnesses like cancer and heart disease, which significantly impair American health and that the next government has stated should be a top focus. 

The first time the FDA weighed in on limits on nicotine was during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in office. 

A Decade in the Making 

In 2017,then-FDA Commissioner Dr.Scott Gottlieb kick-started the process with a “comprehensive plan,” of which one proposal was to “regulate nicotine in combustible cigarettes and make it minimally or nonaddictive.” 

It was meant, in part, to move adult smokers to less hazardous products like vapor cigarettes or e-cigarettes. The 2017 plan also contained the prospect of integrating the regulation of e-cigarette flavors and a complete prohibition on the use of menthol products. A federal rule to eliminate most flavored e-cigarettes in 2020, but they now come in menthol flavor, as reported by NBC News.  

This week, in an interview with Gottlieb, he was of the opinion that smoking incidence would necessarily have to be on the list of activities, which needed focus to enhance the health standards of people with chronic diseases. 

“There could be perhaps no more impactful thing we can do than to dramatically reduce smoking rates in this country,” he said.