US FDA's Plan to Reduce Nicotine in Cigarettes Prompts Other Countries to Follow Suit

US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA)'s plans to reduce nicotine in cigarettes to non-addictive levels has prompted the authorities in Canada, New Zealand, and UK to pursue their own nicotine reduction initiatives. 

"After FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb suggested mandating drastic cuts in nicotine levels, public-health experts in New Zealand last week published an action plan recommending such reductions within five years. Canada and Finland say they're looking into regulating amounts of the drug in tobacco products, while officials in the U.K.'s Department of Health have discussed the US proposal with FDA representatives, according to a person familiar with the matter," as stated in an article from Bloomberg and 22nd Century Group.

22nd Century Group is a plant biotechnology company, which has been working on genetically engineered tobacco to produce less nicotine over the last 20 years. At present, their researchers have proven that it is possible to grow tobacco with non-addictive levels of nicotine. They have developed Very Low Nicotine varieties, and is working on another variety with much lower nicotine content.

Read the press release from 22nd Century Group.