Tobacco Product Standard for Nicotine Level of Combusted Cigarettes
Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 52 (Friday, March 16, 2018)
Federal Register Volume 83, Number 52 (Friday, March 16, 2018)
Proposed Rules
Pages 11818-11843
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov
FR Doc No: 2018-05345
Page 11817
Vol. 83
Friday,
No. 52
March 16, 2018
Part II
Department of Health and Human Services
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Food and Drug Administration
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Tobacco Product Standard for Nicotine Level of Combusted Cigarettes; Proposed Rule
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
Docket No. FDA-2017-N-6189
RIN 0910-AH86
Tobacco Product Standard for Nicotine Level of Combusted Cigarettes
AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing this advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to obtain information for consideration in developing a tobacco product standard to set the maximum nicotine level for cigarettes. Because tobacco-related harms ultimately result from addiction to the nicotine in such products, causing repeated use and exposure to toxicants, FDA is considering taking this action to reduce the level of nicotine in these products so they are minimally addictive or nonaddictive, using the best available science to determine a level that is appropriate for the protection of the public health. FDA is using the term ``nonaddictive'' in this document specifically in the context of a potentially nonaddictive cigarette. We acknowledge the highly addictive potential of nicotine itself depending upon the route of delivery. As discussed elsewhere in this document, questions remain with respect to the precise level of nicotine in cigarettes that might render them either minimally addictive or nonaddictive for specific members or segments of the population. We envision the potential circumstance where nicotine levels in cigarettes do not spur or sustain addiction for some portion of potential smokers. This could give addicted users the choice and ability to quit more easily, and it could help to prevent experimenters (mainly youth) from initiating regular use and becoming regular smokers. The scope of products covered by any potential product standard will be one issue for comment in the ANPRM. Any additional scientific data and research relevant to the empirical basis for regulatory decisions related to a nicotine tobacco product standard is another issue for comment in the ANPRM.
DATES: Submit either electronic or written comments on the ANPRM by June 14, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments as follows. Please note that late, untimely filed comments will not be considered. Electronic comments must be submitted on or before June 14, 2018. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until midnight Eastern Time at the end of June 14, 2018. Comments received by mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions) will be considered timely if they are postmarked or the delivery service acceptance receipt is on or before that date.
Electronic Submissions
Submit electronic comments in the following way:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted electronically, including attachments, to https://www.regulations.gov will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment does not include any confidential information that you or a third party may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone else's Social Security number, or confidential business information, such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in the body of your comments, that information will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov.
If you want to submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner detailed (see ``Written/Paper Submissions'' and ``Instructions'').
Written/Paper Submissions
Submit written/paper submissions as follows:
Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for written/paper submissions): Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
For written/paper comments submitted to the Dockets Management Staff, FDA will post your comment, as well as any attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, as confidential, if submitted as detailed in ``Instructions.''
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. FDA-2017-N-6189 for ``Tobacco Product Standard for Nicotine Level of Certain Tobacco Products.'' Received comments, those filed in a timely manner (see ADDRESSES), will be placed in the docket and, except for those submitted as ``Confidential Submissions,'' publicly viewable at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Dockets Management Staff between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Confidential Submissions--To submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states ``THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.'' The Agency will review this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in its consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the claimed confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be available for public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. Submit both copies to the Dockets Management Staff. If you do not wish your name and contact information to be made publicly available, you can provide this information on the cover sheet and not in the body of your comments and you must identify this information as ``confidential.'' Any information marked as ``confidential'' will not be disclosed except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA's posting of comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or access the information at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-09-18/pdf/2015-23389.pdf.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov and insert the docket number, found in brackets in the heading of this document, into the ``Search'' box and follow the prompts and/or go to the Dockets Management Staff, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerie Voss, Center for Tobacco Products, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20993, 1-877-CTP-1373, email protected.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
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Executive Summary
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Purpose of the ANPRM
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Summary of the Major Issues Raised in the ANPRM
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Background
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Purpose
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Legal Authority
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Health Consequences of Combusted Tobacco Products
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Nicotine in Combusted Tobacco Products and Its Impact on Users
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Negative Health Effects of Combusted Tobacco Product Use
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Requests for Comments and Information
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Scope
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Maximum Nicotine Level
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Implementation (Single Target vs. Stepped-Down Approach)
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Analytical Testing Method
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Technical Achievability
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Possible Countervailing Effects
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Other Considerations
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Potential Public Health Benefits of Preventing Initiation to Regular Use and Increasing Cessation
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Smoking Cessation Would Lead to Substantial Public Health Benefits for People of All Ages
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A Nicotine Tobacco Product Standard Could Lead to Substantial Improvement in Public Health
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References
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Executive Summary
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Purpose of the ANPRM
Tobacco use causes a tremendous toll of death and disease every year, and these effects are ultimately the result of addiction to the nicotine in combustible cigarettes which causes repeated use of such products, thus repeatedly exposing users and non-users to toxicants. This nicotine addiction causes users to engage in compulsive tobacco use, makes quitting less likely, and, thus, repeatedly exposes them to thousands of toxicants in combusted tobacco products. This is especially true with respect to cigarette smoking. Through this ANPRM, FDA indicates that it is considering the issuance of a product standard to set a maximum nicotine level in cigarettes so that they are minimally addictive or nonaddictive, using the best available science to determine a level that is appropriate for the protection of the public health. The Agency seeks information and comment on a number of issues associated with such a potential product standard. Greatly reducing or eliminating the addictiveness of cigarettes would have significant benefits for youth, young adults, and adults. More than half of adult cigarette smokers make a serious quit attempt each year (quit for at least a day), many of whom do not succeed due to the addictive nature of these products (Ref. 1). The establishment of a maximum nicotine level in cigarettes not only could increase the likelihood of successful quit attempts, but it also could help prevent experimenters (mainly youth and young adults) from initiating regular cigarette smoking. Therefore, rendering cigarettes minimally addictive or nonaddictive (however that were achieved) could help current users quit and prevent future users from becoming addicted and escalating to regular use.
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Summary of the Major Issues Raised in the ANPRM
In this ANPRM, FDA is seeking information on a variety of issues regarding the development of a tobacco product standard that would limit the amount of nicotine in cigarettes. Specifically, FDA is seeking your comments, evidence, and other information supporting your responses to questions on the following topics:
Scope--Cigarettes are the tobacco product category that causes the greatest burden of harm to public health given the prevalence of cigarette use, including among youth, and the toxicity and addictiveness of these products and the resulting tobacco-related disease and death across the population, including among non-users. If FDA were to establish a nicotine tobacco product standard that covered only cigarettes, some number of addicted smokers could migrate to other similar combusted tobacco products to maintain their nicotine dose (or engage in dual use with other combusted tobacco products), potentially reducing the positive public health impact of such a rule. Because the scope would impact the potential public health benefits of a nicotine tobacco product standard, FDA is seeking comment on whether the standard should cover any or all of the following products: Combusted cigarettes (which FDA has previously interpreted to include kreteks and bidis), cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco, some or all cigars, pipe tobacco, and waterpipe tobacco. FDA intends that any nicotine tobacco product standard would cover all brands in a particular product category and, therefore, those products currently on the market and any new tobacco products would be expected to adhere to the standard.
Maximum Nicotine Level--FDA has considered the existing peer-reviewed studies regarding very low nicotine content (VLNC) cigarettes and the likely effects of reducing nicotine in combusted tobacco products (i.e., cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, and waterpipe tobacco). A 2013 survey paper noted that researchers initially estimated that reducing the total nicotine content of cigarettes to 0.5 milligrams (mg) per rod would minimize addictiveness and that a ``more recent analysis suggests that the maximum allowable nicotine content per cigarette that minimizes the risk of central nervous system effects contributing to addiction may be lower'' (Ref. 2). The study authors concluded that ``preventing children from becoming addicted smokers and giving people greater freedom to stop smoking when they decide to quit by reducing the addictiveness of cigarettes is a policy that increasingly appears to be feasible and warranted'' (id.). We specifically request comment regarding this paper's conclusions and the possible impact of higher or lower maximum nicotine levels in a potential nicotine tobacco product standard. If FDA were to pursue a nicotine tobacco product standard, it would be important for FDA to consider what maximum nicotine level for such standard would be appropriate, how this maximum nicotine level should be measured (e.g., nicotine yield, nicotine in tobacco filler, something else), and how the threshold of nicotine addiction should be measured, using the best available science to determine a level that is appropriate for the protection of the public health. FDA seeks comment on a potential maximum nicotine level that would be appropriate for the protection of the public health, in light of scientific evidence about the addictive properties of nicotine in cigarettes. FDA is particularly interested in comments about the merits of nicotine levels like 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 mg nicotine/g of tobacco filler, as well as other levels of nicotine. FDA is also requesting any information on additional scientific data and research which would provide information about specific groups within the general population which may have an increased sensitivity to nicotine's reinforcing effects, or who may have otherwise not been captured in the literature on VLNC cigarettes. In addition, FDA is considering and requesting information on additional scientific data and research relevant to the empirical basis for regulatory decisions related to a potential nicotine product standard.
Implementation--If FDA were to issue a product standard establishing a maximum nicotine level for cigarettes, such a standard could propose either a single target (where the nicotine is reduced all at once) or a stepped-down approach (where the nicotine is reduced gradually over time through a sequence of incremental levels and implementation dates) to reach the desired maximum nicotine level.
Analytical Testing Method--As part of its consideration regarding a potential nicotine tobacco product standard, FDA is also considering whether such a product standard should specify a method for manufacturers to use to
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detect the level of nicotine in their products. FDA believes that the results of any test to measure the nicotine in such products should be comparable across different accredited testing facilities and products. It is critical that the results from the test method used demonstrate a high level of specificity, accuracy, and precision in measuring a range of nicotine levels across a wide variety of tobacco blends and products. FDA is aware of a variety of methods being developed that quantify nicotine in tobacco or tobacco product filler for various products.
Technical Achievability--If FDA were to move forward in this area and proceed to the next step of issuing a proposed rule, section 907(b)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) (21 U.S.C. 387g(b)(1) would require that FDA consider information submitted in connection with that proposed product standard regarding technical achievability of compliance. FDA continues to analyze the technical achievability of a maximum nicotine level for cigarettes as part of its broader assessment of how best to exercise its regulatory authority in this area. Significant nicotine reductions in cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products can be achieved principally through tobacco blending and cross-breeding plants, genetic engineering, and chemical extraction. Agricultural practices (e.g., controlled growing conditions, fertilization, and harvest) as well as more recent, novel techniques also can help to reduce nicotine levels. FDA is considering the feasibility of the current nicotine reduction techniques--for cigarette and other combusted tobacco product manufacturers of all sizes--to significantly reduce nicotine levels to levels similar to those in existing VLNC cigarettes. FDA also is considering the proper timeframe for implementation of a possible nicotine tobacco product standard to allow adequate time for industry to comply. In addition, FDA is seeking data and information regarding the potential costs, including possible costs to farmers, to implement such a standard.
Possible Countervailing Effects--There may be possible countervailing effects that could diminish the population health benefits expected as a result of a nicotine tobacco product standard. As part of any subsequent rulemaking, FDA would need to assess these effects in comparison to the expected benefits, including among population subgroups. One possible countervailing effect is continued combusted tobacco product use. Current smokers of tobacco products subject to a nicotine tobacco product standard could turn to other combusted tobacco products to maintain their nicotine dependence, both in combination with cigarettes (i.e., dual use) or in place of cigarettes (i.e., switching). Coverage of other combusted tobacco products, as FDA is considering, is one way to significantly limit this product migration or transition to dual use with other combusted tobacco products.
Another possible countervailing effect is the potential for increased harm due to continued VLNC smoking with altered smoking behaviors (e.g., increase in number of cigarettes smoked, increased depth of inhalation). Some studies of VLNC cigarettes with nicotine levels similar to what FDA may consider including in a nicotine tobacco product standard have not resulted in compensatory smoking and have demonstrated reductions in cigarettes smoked per day and in exposure to harmful constituents (e.g., Ref. 3; Ref. 4; Ref. 5).
Another possible countervailing effect of setting a maximum nicotine level for cigarettes could be users seeking to add nicotine in liquid or other form to their combusted tobacco product. Therefore, FDA is considering whether any action it might take to reduce nicotine in cigarettes should be paired with a provision that would prohibit the sale or distribution of any tobacco product designed for the purposes of supplementing the nicotine content of the combusted tobacco product (or where the reasonably foreseeable use of the product is for the purposes of supplementing the nicotine content). FDA is also considering other regulatory options to address this concern.
FDA is also considering whether illicit trade could occur as a result of a nicotine tobacco product standard and how that could impact the marketplace. In addition, FDA is considering how, if FDA were to issue a nicotine tobacco product standard that prompted an increase in the illicit market, comprehensive interventions could reduce the size of the illicit tobacco market through enforcement mechanisms and collaborations across jurisdictions.
Other Considerations--FDA also recognizes that, if FDA were to proceed to the stage of proposing a rule in this area, potential costs and benefits from a possible nicotine tobacco product standard would be estimated and considered in an accompanying preliminary impact analysis, including the potential impacts on growers of tobacco and current users of potentially regulated products. Thus, FDA is also seeking comments, data, research results, and other information regarding economic impacts of a potential nicotine tobacco product standard.
Further, this ANPRM briefly describes the potential public health benefits that could result from the increased cessation from and decreased initiation to regular use of cigarettes that FDA expects could occur with a nicotine tobacco product standard. FDA references findings from a population-based simulation model that projects the potential public health impact of enacting a regulation lowering nicotine levels in cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products to minimally addictive levels, utilizing inputs derived from empirical evidence and expert opinion (eight subject matter experts provided quantitative estimates for the potential outcomes of the policy on smoking cessation, initiation, switching, and dual use rates). Based on the experts' determinations that the reduction in nicotine levels in combusted tobacco products would create substantial reductions in smoking prevalence due to increased smoking cessation and reduced initiation of regular smoking, the model calculates that by the year 2100, more than 33 million youth and young adults who would have otherwise initiated regular smoking would not start as a result of a nicotine tobacco product standard. The model also projected that approximately 5 million additional smokers would quit smoking 1 year after implementation of the product standard, compared to the baseline scenario, which would increase to approximately 13 million additional former smokers within 5 years after policy implementation.
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Background
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Purpose
On July 28, 2017, FDA announced a comprehensive approach to the regulation of nicotine that includes the Agency's plan to begin a public dialogue about lowering nicotine levels in combustible cigarettes to minimally addictive or nonaddictive levels through achievable product standards, including the issuance of an ANPRM to seek input on the potential public health benefits and any possible adverse effects of lowering nicotine in cigarettes. Tobacco use causes a tremendous toll of death and disease every year, and these effects are ultimately the result of addiction to the nicotine contained in combustible cigarettes, leading to repeated exposure to toxicants from such cigarettes. This nicotine addiction causes users to engage in compulsive use, makes quitting less likely and, therefore,
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repeatedly exposes them (and others) to thousands of toxicants in combusted tobacco products. This is especially true with respect to cigarette smoking. Researchers have found that the mortality rate from any cause of death at any given age is 2 to 3 times higher among current cigarette smokers, compared to individuals who never smoked (Ref. 6).\1\ Through this ANPRM, FDA indicates that it is considering the issuance of a product standard to set a maximum nicotine level in cigarettes so that they are minimally addictive or nonaddictive, using the best available science to determine a level that is appropriate for the protection of the public health.\2\ The Agency seeks information and comment on a number of issues associated with such a potential product standard. Greatly reducing the addictiveness of cigarettes would have significant benefits for youth, young adults, and adults.\3\ More than half of adult smokers make a serious quit attempt each year (quit for at least a day), many of whom are not able to succeed due to the addictive nature of these products (Ref. 1). The establishment of a maximum nicotine level in cigarettes not only could increase the likelihood of successful quit attempts, but it also could help prevent experimenters (mainly youth) from initiating regular use. Therefore, FDA hypothesizes that making cigarettes minimally addictive or nonaddictive, using the best available science to determine a level that is appropriate for the protection of the public health, would significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by smoking.
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\1\ The discussion of scientific data discussed in this ANPRM is not intended to cover all available information on this subject matter. Rather, it is intended to provide only a sampling of some of the current research that could be relevant to consideration of a potential nicotine tobacco product standard.
\2\ The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act specifically prohibits the Agency from ``requiring the reduction of nicotine yields of a tobacco product to zero'' but generally authorizes FDA to issue a tobacco product standard setting a maximum nicotine level. Section 907(C)(3)(B) of the FD&C Act.
\3\ The definitions of ``youth,'' ``young adults,'' and ``adults'' can vary in scientific studies. The term ``youth'' generally refers to middle school and/or high school age students. ``Young adults'' generally refers to individuals 18 to 24 years of age. In some studies, ``adults'' may encompass individuals age 18 to 24 but generally refers to those individual 24 to 65 years of age.
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Preventing nonsmokers, particularly youth and young adults, from becoming regular smokers due to nicotine addiction would allow them to avoid the severe adverse health consequences of smoking and would result in substantial public health benefits. In 2014, the Surgeon General estimated that, unless this trajectory is changed dramatically, 5.6 million youth aged 0 to 17 years alive today will die prematurely from a smoking-related disease (Ref. 7 at table 12.2.2). In 2009, Congress estimated that a 50 percent reduction in youth smoking would also result in approximately $75 billion in savings \4\ attributable to reduced health care costs (see section 2(14) of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act; 21 U.S.C. 387 note). As further explained in this ANPRM, if cigarettes were minimally addictive or nonaddictive, it is expected that many fewer youth and young adults would be subjected to the impacts of nicotine (which has a significantly stronger effect on the developing brains of youth (e.g., Refs. 8 and 9)) from cigarettes, nor would they suffer from the health and mortality effects of cigarette use.
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\4\ Congress' estimate of approximately $75 billion in savings, if adjusted for inflation, would amount to $83.63 billion in 2017.
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Nicotine is powerfully addictive. The Surgeon General has reported that 87 percent of adult smokers start smoking before the age of 18 and half of adult smokers become addicted before the age of 18, which is before the age at which they can legally buy a pack of cigarettes (Ref. 7). Nearly all smokers begin before the age of 25, which is the approximate age at which the brain has completed development (Ref. 8). Generally, those who begin smoking before the age of 18 are not aware of the degree of addictiveness and the full extent of the consequences of smoking when they begin experimenting with tobacco use (see, e.g., Ref. 10). Although youth generally believe they will be able to quit when they want, in actuality they have low success rates when making a quit attempt. For example, more than 60 percent of high school aged daily smokers have tried to quit but less than 13 percent were successful at quitting for 30 days or more (Ref. 11). In addition, one study found that 3 percent of 12th grade daily smokers estimated that they would ``definitely'' still be smoking in 5 years, while in reality 63 percent of this population is still smoking 7 to 9 years later (Ref. 12). Another survey revealed that ``nearly 60 percent of adolescents believe that they could smoke for a few years and then quit'' (Ref. 13).
Because it is such a powerful addiction, addiction to nicotine is often lifelong (Ref. 14). Among adolescent tobacco users in 2012, over half (52.2 percent) reported experiencing at least one symptom of tobacco dependence (Ref. 15). FDA expects that making cigarettes minimally addictive or nonaddictive (however that were achieved) may have significant benefits for youth by reducing the risk that youth experimenters progress to regular use of cigarettes as a result of nicotine dependence.
The adolescent brain is more vulnerable to developing nicotine dependence than the adult brain; there are also data from animal studies that indicate that brain changes induced by nicotine may have long-term consequences (i.e., the long-term physical changes, caused by the adolescent nicotine exposure, prevent the brain from reaching its full potential, which could result in permanent deficiencies) (Refs. 8 and 9). Adolescent tobacco users who initiated tobacco use at earlier ages were more likely than those initiating at older ages to report symptoms of tobacco dependence, putting them at greater risk for maintaining tobacco product use into adulthood (Ref. 15). Evidence from animal studies indicate that exposure to substances such as nicotine can disrupt brain development and have long-term consequences for executive cognitive function (such as task-switching and planning) and for the risk of developing a substance abuse disorder and various mental health problems (particularly affective disorders such as anxiety and depression) as an adult (Ref. 16). This exposure to nicotine can also have long-term effects, including decreased attention performance and increased impulsivity, which could promote the maintenance of nicotine use behavior (id.). Further, the 2010 Surgeon General's Report noted that symptoms of dependence could result from even a limited exposure to nicotine during adolescence (Ref. 17).
For all these reasons, FDA is considering limiting the addictiveness of cigarettes by setting a product standard establishing a maximum nicotine level of cigarettes, to help prevent experimenters (who are mainly youth) from becoming addicted to tobacco and, thus, prevent them from initiating regular use and from increasing their risk of tobacco-related death and disease.
FDA is also considering this action because age restrictions on the sale of tobacco products, by themselves, are not entirely effective in preventing youth from obtaining cigarettes or other combusted tobacco products. Youth smokers get their cigarettes from a variety of sources, including directly purchasing them from retailers, giving others money to buy them, obtaining them from other youth or adults (with
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or without their knowledge), or using illegal means (i.e., shoplifting or stealing) (Ref. 18). The 2015 National Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBS) of high school students in grades 9 through 12 found that 12.6 percent of current cigarette smokers under age 18 had purchased their cigarettes directly from stores or gas stations despite the Federal minimum age requirements for cigarettes (Ref. 19). While continued vigorous enforcement of youth access restrictions is critical to protecting public health, FDA is considering taking this additional step to ensure that even if youth do obtain access to cigarettes, they will be less likely to: (1) Become addicted to these products; (2) initiate regular use; and (3) increase their risk of the many diseases caused by, and debilitating effects of, combusted tobacco product use (Ref. 20).
Similarly, limiting the nicotine in cigarettes could have significant benefits for adult tobacco product users, a large majority of whom want to quit but are unsuccessful because of the highly addictive nature of these products (see, e.g., Ref. 21). Data from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey show that 68 percent of current adult cigarette smokers in the United States wanted to quit and 55.4 percent of adult cigarette smokers made a past-year quit attempt of at least 1 day (Ref. 22). In high-income countries, about 7 of 10 adult smokers say they regret initiating smoking and would like to stop (Ref. 23 at p. 2). Decreasing the nicotine in cigarettes so that they are minimally addictive or nonaddictive (using the best available science to determine a level that is appropriate for the protection of the public health) could help users quit if they want to--as the large majority of users say they do (e.g., Ref. 21).
Although many factors contribute to an individual's initial experimentation with tobacco products, the addictive nature of tobacco is the major reason people progress to regular use, and it is the presence of nicotine that causes youth, young adults, and adult users to become addicted to, and to sustain, tobacco use (see, e.g., Refs. 24 and 25). While nicotine is the primary addictive chemical in tobacco, sensorimotor stimuli that are repeatedly paired with nicotine through the process of smoking also develop into conditioned reinforcers that contribute to the persistent nature of nicotine dependence (Ref. 26). In cigarette users, the sensory aspects of smoking, such as taste and sensations of smoking (e.g., throat hit), are often reinforcing as they have been paired repeatedly with nicotine exposure and have been found to be reinforcing without concomitant nicotine exposure in experienced users (Ref. 27). Once tobacco users become addicted to nicotine, they require nicotine to avoid certain withdrawal symptoms. In the process of obtaining nicotine, users of combusted tobacco products are exposed to an array of toxicants in tobacco and tobacco smoke that lead to a substantially increased risk of morbidity and mortality (see, e.g., Ref. 10). Although most current U.S. smokers report that they want to quit smoking, have attempted to quit, and regret starting (see, e.g., Refs. 28 and 29), many smokers find it difficult to break their addiction and quit. Because of nicotine addiction, many smokers lack the ability to choose whether or not to continue smoking these toxic combusted products despite their stated desire to quit (see, e.g., Ref. 17).
Accordingly, FDA is considering whether to issue a tobacco product standard to: (1) Give addicted users of cigarettes the choice and ability to quit more easily by reducing the nicotine to a minimally addictive or nonaddictive level and (2) reduce the risk of progression to regular use and nicotine dependence for persons who experiment with the tobacco products covered by the standard. FDA hypothesizes that making cigarettes minimally addictive or nonaddictive, using the best available science to determine a level that is appropriate for the protection of the public health, could significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by smoking.
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Legal Authority
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act) was enacted on June 22, 2009, amending the FD&C Act and providing FDA with the authority to regulate tobacco products (Pub. L. 111-31). Section 901 of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 387a), as amended by the Tobacco Control Act, granted FDA authority to regulate the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, RYO tobacco, and smokeless tobacco to protect the public health and to reduce tobacco use by minors. The Tobacco Control Act also gave FDA the authority to issue a regulation deeming other products that meet the statutory definition of tobacco product to be subject to FDA's tobacco product authority under chapter IX of the FD&C Act. On May 10, 2016, FDA issued the deeming rule (81 FR 28973), extending FDA's tobacco product authority to all tobacco products, other than the accessories of deemed tobacco products, that meet the statutory definition of tobacco product.
Among the authorities included in chapter IX of the FD&C Act is the authority to establish tobacco product standards. The Act authorizes FDA to adopt a tobacco product standard under section 907 of the FD&C Act if the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) finds that a tobacco product standard is appropriate for the protection of the public health. In making such a finding, the Secretary of HHS must consider scientific evidence concerning: (1) The risks and benefits of the proposed standard to the population as a whole, including users and nonusers of tobacco products; (2) the increased or decreased likelihood that existing users of tobacco products will stop using such products; and (3) the increased or decreased likelihood that those who do not use tobacco products will start using such products (section 907(a)(3)(B)(i) of the FD&C Act).
Section 907(a)(4) of the FD&C Act states that tobacco product standards must include provisions that are appropriate for the protection of the public health. Section 907(a)(4)(B)(i) provides that a product standard must include, where appropriate for the protection of the public health, provisions respecting the construction, components, ingredients, additives, constituents, including smoke constituents, and properties of the tobacco product. Further, section 907(a)(4)(A)(i) states that provisions in tobacco product standards must include, where appropriate, provisions for nicotine yields. Section 907(a)(4)(B)(ii) also provides that a product standard must, where appropriate for the protection of public health, include ``provisions for the testing (on a sample basis or, if necessary, on an individual basis) of the tobacco product.'' In addition, section 907(a)(4)(B)(iv) provides that, where appropriate for the protection of public health, a product standard must include provisions requiring that the results of the tests of the tobacco product required under section 907(a)(4)(B)(ii) show that the product is in conformity with the portions of the standard for which the test(s) were required. Finally, section 907(d)(3)(B) of the FD&C Act prohibits the Agency from issuing a regulation that would require the reduction of nicotine yields of a tobacco product to zero.
The FD&C Act also provides FDA with authority to issue regulations establishing restrictions on the sale and distribution of a tobacco product (section 906(d)(1) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 387f(d)(1))). These restrictions
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may include restrictions on the access to, and the advertising and promotion of, the tobacco product, if the Secretary of HHS determines such regulation would be appropriate for the protection of the public health.
FDA intends to use the information submitted in response to this ANPRM, its independent scientific knowledge, and other appropriate information, to further inform its thinking about options, including the scope, for a potential product standard that would set a maximum nicotine level for cigarettes, and restrictions prohibiting the sale and distribution of any product that violates such a standard.
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Health Consequences of Combusted Tobacco Products
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Nicotine in Combusted Tobacco Products and Its Impact on Users
Tobacco products are addictive, primarily due to the presence of nicotine, and the magnitude of public health harm caused by tobacco products is inextricably linked to their addictive nature (Ref. 13 at p. xi). Cigarettes are the most widely used tobacco products among adults and are responsible for at least 480,000 premature deaths in the United States each year (Ref. 7). Other combusted tobacco products that are possible targets of product migration (i.e., switch candidates for smokers to maintain their nicotine addiction) or dual use have similar adverse health effects and can cause nicotine dependence (Refs. 30 and 31). For example, researchers have found that current exclusive cigar smokers and current exclusive pipe smokers have an increased risk for lung cancer and tobacco-related cancers overall, as compared to those who reported never using any type of combusted tobacco product (Ref. 32). We note that there is a dose-response relationship between the number of cigars and pipes smoked and the risk of disease (i.e., the larger the number of cigars or pipes smoked, the higher the risk of disease) (Ref. 31 at 110), but cigar and pipe users are still subject to the addictive effects of nicotine through nicotine absorption (and to the health impacts of long-term use that may follow from regular use due to addiction) even if they report that they do not inhale (Refs. 33-35).
The Surgeon General has reported that ``most people begin to smoke in adolescence and develop characteristic patterns of nicotine dependence before adulthood'' (Ref. 36 at p. 29). Adolescents develop physical dependence and experience withdrawal symptoms when they try to quit smoking (id.). The 2014 Surgeon General's Report states that 5.6 million youth currently 0 to 17 years of age are projected to die prematurely from smoking-related illnesses (Ref. 7 at pp. 666-667). Accordingly, using the best available science to determine a level that is appropriate for the protection of the public health, making cigarettes minimally addictive or nonaddictive would limit the number of youth and young adults who progress from experimentation to regular use and who, thereby, increase their risk for dangerous smoking-related diseases.
Researchers have determined that almost one-third of adolescents aged 11 to 18 (31 percent) are ``early experimenters,'' meaning that they have tried smoking at least one puff of a cigarette (but smoked no more than 25 cigarettes in their lifetime) (Ref. 37). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other researchers have estimated that 30 percent or more of experimenters become established smokers (Ref. 37, citing Refs. 38 and 39). Given these past trends, if one applies the 30 percent estimate to the adolescents who were early experimenters in 2000, then 2.9 million of these early experimenters have now or will become established smokers (Ref. 37). Based on the number of persons aged 0 to 17 in 2012, the Surgeon General estimated that 17,371,000 of that group will become future smokers and 5,557,000 will die from a smoking-related disease (Ref. 7 at T. 12.2.1). These high numbers speak to the extreme vulnerability of today's children and adolescents to the health harms of tobacco use resulting from addiction.
Nicotine addiction is a critical factor in the transition of smokers from experimentation to sustained smoking and in the continuation of smoking for those who want to quit (Ref. 7 at p. 113; Ref. 17). Intermittent smokers, even very infrequent smokers, can become addicted to tobacco products (Ref. 40). Longitudinal research has shown that smoking typically begins with experimental cigarette use and the transition to regular smoking can occur relatively quickly by smoking as few as 100 cigarettes (Ref. 8). Other research found that among the 3.9 million middle and high school students who reported current use of tobacco products (including cigarettes and cigars) in 2012, 2 million of those students reported at least one symptom of dependence (Ref. 15).
Although the majority of adolescent daily smokers meet the criteria for nicotine dependence, one study found that the most susceptible youth lose autonomy (i.e., independence in their actions) regarding tobacco within 1 or 2 days of first inhaling from a cigarette (Refs. 41 and 42). Another study found that 19.4 percent of adolescents who smoked weekly also were considered to be nicotine dependent (Ref. 43). In a study regarding nicotine dependence among recent onset adolescent smokers, individuals who smoked cigarettes at the lowest levels (i.e., smoking on only 1 to 3 days of the past 30 days) experienced nicotine dependence symptoms such as loss of control over smoking (42 percent) and irritability after not smoking for a while (23 percent) (Ref. 44). Researchers in a 4-year study of sixth grade students also found that ``each of the nicotine withdrawal symptoms appeared in some subjects prior to daily smoking'' (Ref. 42) (emphasis added). Ten percent of the subjects showed signs of addiction to tobacco use within 1 or 2 days of first inhaling from a cigarette, and half had done so by the time they were smoking seven cigarettes per month (Ref. 42).
It is clear that many adult cigarette smokers want to quit. Data from the 2015 National Health Interview Survey show that 68 percent of current adult smokers in the United States wanted to quit and 55.4 percent of adult smokers made a past-year quit attempt of at least 1 day (Ref. 22). According to an analysis of this survey, only 7.4 percent of former adult cigarette smokers had recently quit (id.).
For adult smokers who report quit attempts, many of these attempts are unsuccessful. For example, among the 19 million adults who reported attempting to quit in 2005, epidemiologic data suggest that only 4 to 7 percent were successful (Ref. 28 at p. 15). Similarly, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), considering data from 2004, found that although approximately 40.5 percent of adult smokers reported attempting to quit in that year, only between 3 and 5 percent were successful (Ref. 13 at p. 82). Adult smokers may make as many as thirty or more quit attempts before succeeding (Ref. 45). FDA also notes that adults with education levels at or below the equivalent of a high school diploma have the highest smoking prevalence levels but the lowest quit ratios (i.e., the ratio of persons who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes during their lifetime but do not currently smoke to persons who report smoking at least 100 cigarettes during their lifetime) (Ref. 46). Nicotine addiction and associated withdrawal symptoms make it difficult for smokers to quit without using cessation counseling and/or cessation medications.
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Adolescents also experience low success rates when attempting to quit. As we have noted, most Americans who use tobacco products begin using when they are under the age of 18 and become addicted before reaching the age of 18 (Refs. 36 and 47). Although many adolescents believe ``they can quit smoking at any time and therefore avoid addiction,'' nicotine dependence can be rapidly established (Ref. 13 at p. 89; see also Ref. 28 at p. 158). Research has shown that some adolescents report symptoms of withdrawal and craving within days or weeks of beginning to smoke (Ref. 48). As a result, many adolescents are nicotine dependent despite their relatively short smoking histories (Ref. 11). An analysis of data from the 2015 YRBS found that, of those currently smoking cigarettes, 45.4 percent had tried to quit smoking cigarettes during the previous year (Ref. 19). Likewise, an analysis of the 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) revealed that 51.5 percent of middle and high school student smokers had sought to quit all tobacco use in the previous year (Ref. 49).
Relapse is the principal limiting factor in the transition of smoking to nonsmoking status (Ref. 17). Relapse refers to the point after an attempt to stop smoking when tobacco use becomes ongoing and persistent (Ref. 17, citing Ref. 50). Most smokers who ultimately relapse do so soon after their quit attempt (Ref. 17). One study found that 80 to 90 percent of those individuals who were smoking at 6 months following a quit attempt had resumed smoking within 2 weeks following their quit attempt (Ref. 51). Long-term studies of individuals trying to quit smoking reveal that 30 to 40 percent of those who quit smoking for 1 year eventually relapsed (id.). In fact, one study following 840 participants for more than 8 years found that approximately one-half of smokers who stopped smoking for 1 year relapsed to regular smoking within the subsequent 7 years (Ref. 52). Researchers have found that a higher frequency of smoking predicts more severe withdrawal symptoms and earlier relapse after an attempt to quit smoking and is associated with early lapses after cessation (Ref. 17 at p. 119). FDA specifically requests comment as to whether higher frequency smokers would experience more severe withdrawal symptoms from the use of VLNC cigarettes.
FDA expects that, if cigarettes were minimally addictive or nonaddictive, the nicotine level in cigarettes would be self-limiting (i.e., smokers would be unable to obtain their nicotine dose from cigarettes no matter how they smoked them and eventually would stop trying to do so) (e.g., Refs. 4, 5, and 53), making it potentially easier for smokers to make more successful quit attempts and likely leading to a potentially substantial reduction in the rate of relapse compared to current levels.\5\ Former smokers that choose to switch completely to a potentially less harmful nicotine delivery product (e.g., electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)) to maintain their nicotine dose also would, to the extent that those products result in less harm, significantly reduce their risk of tobacco-related death and disease. Accordingly, rendering cigarettes minimally addictive or nonaddictive (however that were achieved) would be expected to address the principal reason that smokers are unable to quit smoking.
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\5\ As stated throughout the document, FDA expects that, to maintain their nicotine dose, some number of addicted cigarette smokers could migrate to other similar, combusted products (or engage in dual use with such products) after the standard went into effect, reducing the benefits of the product standard. Since the scope would impact the potential public health benefits of such a nicotine tobacco product standard, FDA is seeking comment on whether the standard should cover any or all of the following products: Combusted cigarettes (which FDA has previously interpreted to include kreteks and bidis), cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, some or all cigars, waterpipe tobacco, and pipe tobacco.
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Negative Health Effects of Combusted Tobacco Product Use
Nicotine is a powerfully addictive chemical. The effects of nicotine on the central nervous system occur rapidly after absorption (Ref. 25 at p. 12). Users of combusted tobacco products absorb nicotine readily from tobacco smoke through the lungs (id. at p. iii). Nicotine introduced through the lungs is rapidly distributed to the brain (id. at p. 12). With regular use, nicotine levels accumulate in the body during the day from the tobacco product use and then decrease overnight as the body clears the nicotine (id. at p. iii). Mild nicotine intoxication even occurs in first-time smokers (Ref. 25 at pp. 15-16). Tolerance to the effects of nicotine develops rapidly.
The addiction potential of a nicotine delivery system varies as a function of its total nicotine dosing capability, the speed at which it can deliver nicotine, the palatability and sensory characteristics of the system, how easy it is for the user to extract nicotine, and the cost of the delivery system (Ref. 54). A cigarette is an inexpensive and extremely effective nicotine delivery device, which maximizes the cigarette's addicting and toxic effects (id.). The amount of nicotine delivered and the means through which it is delivered can either reduce or enhance a product's potential for abuse and physiological effects (Ref. 17 at p. 113). Quicker delivery, higher rate of absorption, and higher resulting concentration of nicotine increase the potential for addiction (id. at p. 113). The ultimate levels of nicotine absorbed into the blood for different tobacco products (e.g., cigarettes and cigars) can be similar in magnitude even though individuals may smoke them differently and the rate of absorption may be different (Ref. 25).
The significant negative health effects from cigarettes are a consequence of long-term use. Children and adults continue using cigarettes primarily as a result of their addiction to nicotine (e.g., Ref. 7). Almost all adult smokers started smoking cigarettes as children or young adults, and half of adult smokers became addicted before turning 18 (id.).
Cigarettes are responsible for hundreds of thousands of premature deaths every year from many diseases, put a substantial burden on the U.S. health care system, and cause massive economic losses to society (Ref. 7 at pp. 659-666; another perspective on this issue is provided by Sloan et al. (Ref. 55)). Cigarette smoking causes more deaths each year than AIDS, alcohol, illegal drug use, homicide, suicide, and motor vehicle crashes combined (Ref. 47). Every year, cigarette smoking is the primary causal factor for 163,700 deaths from cancer, 160,600 deaths from cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, and 131,100 deaths from pulmonary diseases (Ref. 7 at p. 659). In the United States, about 87 percent of all lung cancer deaths, 32 percent of coronary heart disease deaths, and 79 percent of all cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are attributable to cigarette smoking (id.). The 2014 Surgeon General's Report states that 5.6 million youth currently 0 to 17 years of age are projected to die prematurely from smoking-related illnesses (id. at pp. 666-667).
Data from the CDC's Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Morbidity, and Economic Costs system for 2005-2009 (the most recent years for which analyses are available) indicate that cigarette smoking and exposure to cigarette smoke are responsible for at least 480,000 premature deaths each year (id. at p. 659). However, this estimate does not include deaths caused by other combusted forms of tobacco, such as cigars and pipes (id. at 665).\6\
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The three leading causes of smoking-attributable death for current and former smokers were lung cancer, heart disease, and COPD (id. at p. 660). For every person who dies from a smoking-related disease, approximately 30 more people will suffer from at least one smoking-
related disease (Ref. 58).
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\6\ As discussed in Ref. 56, regular cigar smoking was responsible for approximately 9,000 premature deaths and more than 140,000 years of potential life lost among adults aged 35 years or older in 2010. The 2014 Surgeon General Report states that the methodology for estimating the current population burden for use of combusted tobacco products other than cigarettes remains under discussion, but the number of added deaths is expected to be in the thousands per year (Ref. 7 at 665, 14 SG; citing Ref. 57).
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Cigarettes also have deadly effects on nonsmokers. From 2005 to 2009, an estimated 7,330 lung cancer and 33,950 heart disease deaths were attributable to exposure to secondhand smoke (Ref. 7 at p. 660). It is also well established that secondhand tobacco smoke causes premature death and disease in children and in adults who do not smoke (see, e.g., Ref. 59 at p. 11). According to the Surgeon General's Report, ``50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2014,'' which summarizes thousands of peer-reviewed scientific studies and is itself peer-reviewed, smoking remains the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the United States, and cigarettes have been shown to cause an ever-expanding number of diseases and health conditions (Ref. 7 at pp. 107-621). As stated in the 2014 Report, ``cigarette smoking has been causally linked to disease of nearly all organs of the body, to diminished health status, and to harm to the fetus . . . and the burden of death and disease from tobacco use in the United States is overwhelmingly caused by cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products'' (Ref. 7 at p. 7).
Other combusted tobacco products, particularly those that could be cigarette alternatives if users were unable to continue smoking cigarettes, cause similar negative health effects. For example, there is a long-standing body of research, including reports from the Surgeon General and National Cancer Institute (NCI), demonstrating that cigar use can cause serious adverse health effects (Ref. 31 at 119-155; Refs. 60, 61, and 33). NCI's Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 9 (``Cigars: Health Effects and Trends''), which provides a comprehensive, peer-reviewed analysis of the trends in cigar smoking and potential public health consequences, as well as other research, demonstrates that cigar smoking leads to an increased risk of oral, laryngeal, esophageal, pharyngeal, and lung cancers, as well as coronary heart disease and aortic aneurysm, with the magnitude in risk a function of the amount smoked and depth of inhalation (Ref. 31 at 119-155). Research indicates that most cigar smokers do inhale some amount of smoke, even when they do not intend to inhale, and are not aware of doing so (Refs. 33 and 34). Even when cigar smokers do not breathe smoke into their lungs, they are still subject to the addictive effects of nicotine through nicotine absorption (Refs. 33 and 35). This is because cigar smoke dissolves in saliva, allowing the smoker to absorb sufficient nicotine to create dependence, even if the smoke is not inhaled (Refs. 35 and 62).
Regular cigar smoking (which, in this study, constituted use on at least 15 of the past 30 days) was responsible for approximately 9,000 premature deaths and more than 140,000 years of potential life lost among adults aged 35 years or older in 2010 (Ref. 56). Researchers also have found that the risk of dying from tobacco-related cancers is higher from current exclusive pipe smokers and current exclusive cigar smokers than for those who reported never using combusted tobacco products (Ref. 32).
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Requests for Comments and Information
To aid in its consideration regarding development of a nicotine tobacco product standard, FDA is seeking comments, data, research results, and other information related to questions under the following topics: Scope of products to be covered, maximum nicotine level for a nicotine tobacco product standard, implementation, analytical testing, technical achievability, possible countervailing effects (including the potential for an illicit market), and other considerations. We ask that commenters clearly identify the section and question associated with their responsive comments and information.
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Scope
A tobacco product standard limiting the nicotine level in cigarettes could address one of our nation's greatest public health challenges: The death and disease caused by cigarette use. Approximately 480,000 people die every year from smoking cigarettes (Ref. 7). Cigarettes are the tobacco product category that causes the greatest burden of harm to public health as a result of the prevalence of cigarette use and the toxicity and addictiveness of these products. FDA hypothesizes that a tobacco product standard limiting the nicotine level in cigarettes could significantly increase the number of successful quit attempts by the majority of smokers seeking to quit smoking every year and potentially prevent experimenters from becoming regular smokers. However, if a standard were to apply to cigarettes only, it could be substantially less effective. Specifically, FDA expects that, to maintain their nicotine dose, some number of addicted cigarette smokers could migrate to other similar, combusted products (or begin to engage in dual use with such other products) after the standard went into effect, reducing the benefits of the product standard. Former smokers that choose to switch completely to a potentially less harmful nicotine delivery product (e.g., ENDS) to maintain their nicotine dose also would, to the extent that those products result in less harm, significantly reduce their risk of tobacco-related death and disease. Since the scope would impact the potential public health benefits of such a nicotine tobacco product standard, FDA is seeking comment on whether the standard should cover any or all of the following products: Combusted cigarettes (which FDA has previously interpreted to include kreteks and bidis), cigarette tobacco, RYO tobacco, some or all cigars, pipe tobacco, and waterpipe tobacco. FDA intends that any nicotine tobacco product standard would cover all brands in a product category and, therefore, those products currently on the market and any new tobacco products would be expected to adhere to the standard.
FDA is continuing to weigh several factors as it considers the scope of products that should be subject to any potential nicotine tobacco product standard--including the strength and breadth of the available data derived from studies of VLNC cigarettes on the likely effects of reducing nicotine \7\ (as discussed in section IV.B); current prevalence and initiation rates for different classes of tobacco products; the available data on the toxicity, addictiveness, and appeal of the products; the use topography of the products (including quantity, frequency, and duration of use); and the potential for migration to, and dual use of, different products. Current VLNC cigarette literature indicates that reduction of nicotine in cigarettes would make it more likely for smokers (even those not currently expressing a desire to quit) to cease cigarette use (e.g., Refs. 4, 5, 63, and 64). In light of these data, FDA also believes that reduction of nicotine could help prevent
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experimenters from becoming addicted to tobacco, resulting in regular tobacco use.
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\7\ VLNC cigarettes do not contain uniform amounts of nicotine.
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Based on these considerations, FDA is seeking comment on whether any nicotine tobacco product standard should cover any or all of the following products:
Combusted cigarettes (which FDA has previously interpreted to include kreteks and bidis),
Cigarette tobacco,
RYO tobacco,
Cigars (some or all categories; i.e., small cigars, large cigars, cigarillos, and/or so-called premium cigars),
Pipe tobacco, and
Waterpipe tobacco.
Please explain your responses and provide any evidence or other information supporting your responses to the following questions:
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If FDA were to propose a product standard setting a maximum nicotine level, should such a standard cover other combusted tobacco products in addition to cigarettes? If so, which other products? If FDA were to propose to include additional categories of combusted tobacco products in a nicotine tobacco product standard, should the standard be tailored to reflect differences in these products? What criteria should be used to determine whether, and which, products should be covered?
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Some suggest that large cigars and those cigars typically referred to as ``premium'' cigars should be regulated differently from other cigars, asserting that they are used primarily by adults and their patterns of use are different from those of regular cigars (81 FR 28973 at 29024). FDA requests information and data on whether large and/or so-called premium cigars should be excluded from a possible nicotine tobacco product standard based on asserted different patterns of use, and whether large and/or so-called premium cigars would be migration (or dual use) candidates if FDA were to issue a nicotine tobacco product standard that excluded premium cigars from its scope. FDA also requests data and information on whether and how there is a way that, if FDA were to exclude premium cigars from the scope of a nicotine tobacco product standard, FDA could define ``premium cigar'' to include only unlikely migration or dual use products and thereby minimize such consequences.
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Should waterpipe tobacco products, which are different from regular pipe tobacco, be included in such a standard? Are there data showing different use topographies or that they are not likely to be migration substitutes or dual use candidates? If FDA were to issue a nicotine tobacco product standard that did not include waterpipe tobacco products within the scope, what would be the likelihood that former smokers would switch to waterpipe tobacco to maintain their nicotine addiction? What are the relative risk consequences of switching to waterpipe tobacco?
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Maximum Nicotine Level
As discussed throughout this document, nicotine is addictive and is the primary reason why many smokers who want to quit are unable to do so. Accordingly, FDA is considering developing a proposed product standard to make cigarettes minimally addictive or nonaddictive by setting a maximum nicotine level, using the best available science to determine a level that is appropriate for the protection of the public health. FDA has considered several peer-reviewed studies regarding very low nicotine content (VLNC) cigarettes \8\ and the likely effects of reducing nicotine in combusted tobacco. A 2013 survey paper noted that researchers initially estimated that reducing the total nicotine content of cigarettes to 0.5 mg per rod would minimize addictiveness and that a ``more recent analysis suggests that the maximum allowable nicotine content per cigarette that minimizes the risk of central nervous system effects contributing to addiction may be lower'' (Ref. 2). The study authors concluded that ``preventing children from becoming addicted smokers and giving people greater freedom to stop smoking when they decide to quit by reducing the addictiveness of cigarettes is a policy that increasingly appears to be feasible and warranted'' (id.). We specifically request comment regarding this paper's conclusions and the possible impact of higher or lower maximum nicotine levels in a potential nicotine tobacco product standard.
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\8\ Scientific studies regarding VLNC cigarettes use both ``yield'' and ``content'' to describe the amount of nicotine in research cigarettes. ``Yield'' is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) machine-generated nicotine smoke yield, and ``content'' refers to the nicotine in the tobacco filler of the entire finished product. ``Yield'' and ``content'' are not interchangeable terms. If neither ``yield'' nor ``content'' is used, the nicotine levels in these studies refer to content.
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Early ``light'' cigarettes achieved a reduction in machine-measured nicotine yield through a variety of means, including through the use of ventilation holes (although the actual nicotine content was not low). This increase in ventilation led to lower yields of nicotine in smoke as measured by smoking machines, and these products were marketed as low nicotine delivery or ``light'' cigarettes. However, cigarette users could modify their use behaviors to compensate for this increase in ventilation. For example, the vent holes could be easily blocked by users' fingers or mouths, and larger or more frequent puffs could be taken by consumers (Ref. 65). As a result, these products were designed to make them ``appear'' light to the user but could deliver as much nicotine to the user as high nicotine delivery cigarettes. The compensatory behaviors of the cigarette user were able to overcome the changes in ventilation in these higher ventilated products.
VLNC cigarettes, in contrast, have relied on reducing nicotine content in the tobacco filler rather than engineering changes to the cigarette. Patents reveal that more than 96 percent of nicotine can be successfully extracted while achieving a product that ``was subjectively rated as average in smoking characteristics'' (Ref. 66) and that up to a 75 percent reduction in the nicotine contained in a tobacco leaf can be achieved with an ``effective and economical system for producing tobacco products . . . while maintaining other desirable ingredients for good taste and flavor'' (Ref. 67).
In conventional cigarettes manufactured in the United States, nicotine accounts for approximately 1.5 percent of the cigarette weight, or 10-14 mg of nicotine per cigarette (Refs. 68-71) and generally have nicotine yields in the 1.1 mg to 1.7 mg (Ref. 31 at p. 67). Certain VLNC cigarettes have much lower nicotine yields than conventional cigarettes--in the 0.02-0.07 mg nicotine/cigarette range--
due to product changes that the user cannot overcome (Ref. 72). Reducing the nicotine in the finished tobacco product places an absolute maximum limit on the amount of nicotine that can be extracted by the user in a given cigarette, unlike modifications such as ventilation holes, which affect nicotine yield in smoke but can be overcome through user behavior. See section IV.C of this document for a discussion of possible compensatory smoking under a single target approach or a stepped down approach to nicotine reduction.
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VLNC Cigarettes
The first VLNC cigarettes studied by researchers were produced by Philip Morris and marketed under the brand name ``Next,'' which was reported to contain 0.4 mg nicotine/g of tobacco filler (Ref. 73). Later, the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) contracted with the Ultratech/Lifetech
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Corporation \9\ to produce VLNC cigarettes for research purposes (Ref. 74; Ref. 75). The two types of cigarettes produced were: (1) 1.1 mg/
cigarette (cig) ISO smoke nicotine (7.2 mg nicotine/cig in filler) and (2) 0.07 mg/cig ISO smoke nicotine (filler levels were reported as 0, but FDA has estimated these levels to be between 0.4 and 0.5 mg/cig) (Ref. 74).
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\9\ Both Ultratech and Lifetech have been reported as being the company through which NIDA manufactured research cigarettes.
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Researchers also have used Quest cigarettes, produced by Vector Tobacco, to study the impact of reduced nicotine (Ref. 76). To provide consumers with reduced risk tobacco products, companies like 22nd Century are using genetic engineering and plant breeding to produce very low nicotine tobacco for incorporation into cigarettes. In 2014, the company was granted patents for its process to virtually eliminate the nicotine in tobacco plants (Ref. 77). Further, low-nicotine cigarettes are produced and distributed for research purposes by Research Triangle Institute (RTI), under a contract for the NIDA's Drug Supply Program (Ref. 78). 22nd Century is acting as a vendor for RTI for this contract manufacturing Spectrum cigarettes that contain 0.4 mg nicotine/gram (g) of tobacco filler (id). Finally, Philip Morris manufactured cigarettes with varying nicotine levels for research only (Ref. 79). FDA requests data and information regarding the risks to smokers from inhalation of VLNC cigarette smoke.
Table 1 includes a list of VLNC cigarettes used in research studies and their reported nicotine levels.
Table 1--Filler Nicotine and ISO Nicotine Delivery for Low and Very Low
(*) Nicotine Cigarettes Made Available Either Commercially or for
Research
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Filler nicotine ISO Nicotine
Type of cigarette level (mg/g or mg/ delivery (mg/
cig) cig)
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Quest 1........................... 12.5 mg/g; 8.9 mg/ 0.6
cig.
Quest 2........................... 6.4 mg/g; 5.1 mg/cig 0.3
Quest 3........................... 1.0 mg/g; 0.4 mg/cig *0.5
Ultratech/Lifetech................ 10.3 mg/g \1\; 7.2 1.1
mg/cig.
Ultratech/Lifetech\2\............. 0.6-0.7 mg/g \1\; * Percent of current cigarette smokers who would quit cigarette smoking as a result of a standard restricting nicotine to minimally addictive levels.
Percent of quitters switching to other combusted or noncombusted tobacco products.
Percent of continuing smokers who become dual product users of cigarettes and noncombusted tobacco products.
Percent reduction in annual smoking initiation rates.
Percent of dissuaded smoking initiates who initiate noncombusted tobacco product use instead.
Please include your assumptions about the scope of the standard and data that supports your estimates.
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Additional Public Health Benefits
While the projections from the simulation model calculating the potential impact from reducing nicotine to minimally addictive levels in cigarettes suggest a significant public health benefit to the United States resulting from substantial reductions in smoking prevalence (based on the model's inputs, which reflect the experts' assessments that the reduction in nicotine levels in combusted tobacco products would create substantial increases in smoking cessation and reductions in initiation of regular smoking), the analysis does not address certain potential added benefits. First, the model does not account for increased quality of life from decreased tobacco-related morbidity, nor does it account for cost savings from medical care averted. Second, the analysis does not account for the impacts of secondhand smoke exposure on public health in the United States. Third, the analysis does not account for reductions in harms caused by smoking-related fires. Fourth, the potential impact described does not account for the potential impact on population health from use of the other combusted products (e.g., cigars, pipes) if the assumed rule were to cover such products. Finally, these projections do not assess whether there could be potential health benefits associated with smokers cutting down on the number of cigarettes smoked as a result of the standard.
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References
The following references are on display in the Dockets Management Staff (see ADDRESSES) and are available for viewing by interested persons between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday; they are also available electronically at https://www.regulations.gov. FDA has verified the website addresses, as of the date this document publishes in the Federal Register, but websites are subject to change over time.
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National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey website, available at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/data-questionnaires-documentation.htm.
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Benowitz, N.L., and J.E. Henningfield, ``Reducing the Nicotine Content to Make Cigarettes Less Addictive,'' Tobacco Control, 22(Suppl 1):i14-i17, 2013.
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Hatsukami, D.K., S.J. Heishman, R.I. Vogel, et al., ``Dose-
Response Effects of Spectrum Research Cigarettes,'' Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 15(6):1113-1121, 2013, available at http://ntr.oxfordjournals.org/content/15/6/1113.long#T4.
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Hatsukami, D., M. Kotlyar, L.A. Hertsgaard, et al., ``Reduced Nicotine Content Cigarettes: Effects on Toxic Exposure, Dependence, and Cessation,'' Addiction, 105(2):343-355, 2010.
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Benowitz, N.L., S.M. Hall, S. Stewart, et al., ``Nicotine and Carcinogen Exposure With Smoking of Progressively Reduced Nicotine Content Cigarettes,'' Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, 16(11):2479-2485, 2007.
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Carter B.D., C.C. Abnet, D. Fesankich, et al., ``Smoking and Mortality--Beyond Established Causes,'' New England Journal of Medicine, 372:7, 631-640, 2015.
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ``The Health Consequences of Smoking--50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General''; 2014.
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ``Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults,'' A Report of the Surgeon General; 2012.
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Poorthuis, R.B., N.A. Goriounova, J.J. Couey, et al., ``Nicotinic Actions on Neuronal Networks for Cognition: General Principles and Long-Term Consequences,'' Biochemical Pharmacology, 78(7):668-676, 2009.
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Slovic, P., Smoking: Risk Perception, & Policy, II.6 ``Cigarette Smokers: Rational Actors or Rational Fools?'' Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2001.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ``High School Students Who Tried to Quit Smoking Cigarettes--United States, 2007,'' Morbidity and
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Mortality Weekly Report, 58(16); 428-431, May 1, 2009.
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Johnston L.D., O'Malley P.M., Bachman J.G., & Schulenberg J.E., ``Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-
2004,'' Volume I, Secondary school students (NIH Publication NO. 05-
5727), Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.
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Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, ``Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation,'' 2007, available at http://nationalacademies.org/hmd/reports/2007/ending-the-tobacco-problem-a-blueprint-for-the-nation.aspx.
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Levin, E.D., S. Lawrence, A. Petro, et al., ``Adolescent vs. Adult-Onset Nicotine Self-Administration in Male Rats: Duration of Effect and Differential Nicotinic Receptor Correlates,'' Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 29(4):458-465, 2007.
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Apelberg B.J., C.G. Corey, A.C. Hoffman, et al., ``Symptoms of Tobacco Dependence Among Middle and High School Tobacco Users,'' American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 47(2S1):S4-S14, 2014.
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Counotte, D.S., A.B. Smit, T. Battij, et al., ``Development of the Motivational System During Adolescence, and Its Sensitivity to Disruption by Nicotine,'' Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 1(4):430-443, 2011.
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ``How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-
Attributable Disease,'' A Report of the Surgeon General; 2010.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Youth Tobacco
Page 11843
Survey website, available at https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/surveys/nyts/index.htm.
Dated: March 12, 2018.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
FR Doc. 2018-05345 Filed 3-15-18; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P
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