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The FDA has proposed a cap on cigarette nicotine content - will this drive smokers to safer products, or towards unregulated alternatives? Will Godfrey discusses the uncertain future that lies in the hands of the FDA.

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro with Joanna Junak
0:28 - FDA plans cap on cigarette nicotine content
2:15 - Competitive pricing of nicotine vapes could help smokers switch to safer products
2:58 - Register for #GFN23 at the link below

Transcription:

Hello and welcome. I'm Joanna Junak and this is GFN News on GFN.TV. Today we'll


be speaking with Will Godfrey of Filter about study looking at the role of vapes if the


United States limits nicotine levels in cigarettes. Hi Will. What did this study investigate and


what did it find? Hi Joanna. Yes, researchers at Johns Hopkins University were seeking to


anticipate how people who smoke would react if the FDA caps nicotine in cigarettes at


a low level. As Ben Adlin noted in his report for Filter, the Biden administration announced


this proposal last year and the FDA has the authority to enact it. It's a controversial


plan. Many THR advocates object on the grounds that rather than reducing smoking, it would


prompt people to draw harder or smoke more to get the nicotine they want or else turn


to the illicit market to obtain full nicotine cigarettes. The recent study confirmed that


latter possibility. It recruited participants who smoke at least five a day to complete


a number of hypothetical purchasing tasks. More than three quarters said that they would


or might buy illicit market cigarettes if that were the only way to get cigarettes with


regular nicotine levels. But the availability and critically the price of nicotine vapes


altered that hypothetical picture. Study scenarios involved participants being offered vapes


at differing prices. If they were $12 a pot, then they didn't step in and serve as a substitute


for illicit cigarettes, co-author Matthew Johnson told Ben. But if you introduce them


at $4 a pot, they do. The availability of the $4 pot caused about a 19% decrease in


the amount of reduced nicotine cigarettes smoked on average, he added.


So what can we take away from this?


As Alex Clark of the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association told Ben,


it's no surprise that giving vapor products a competitive edge over combustible cigarettes


leads to more interest and more substitution by people who smoke. Still, this is a valuable


addition to evidence that if the FDA, despite objections, goes through with its plan, it


must not sideline vapes as an alternative to low nicotine or illicit cigarettes.


Reporting on issues like vape taxes can sometimes appear a bit in the weeds, but relative pricing


compared to cigarettes is always critical. You'd think it would be obvious to ensure


through tax policies that purchasing a far safer alternative is heavily incentivized.


Sadly, relying on US authorities to follow the evidence is rarely a safe bet.


Thank you all. We are looking forward to seeing you next week in Warsaw. That's all for today.


Tune in next time here on GFN TV or on our GFN TV podcast. There is still time to register


for the Global Forum on Nicotine. GFN 2023 starts on June 21st and runs to the 24th.


Thanks for watching or listening. See you next time.