22nd Century Group urges FDA to enact reduced nicotine standard, citing years without final rule

22nd Century Group issued a press release calling on HHS Secretary Kennedy, Acting FDA Commissioner Diamantas, and CTP Director Koplow to finalize the pending reduced nicotine content standard for cigarettes and certain combusted tobacco products. The rule was proposed in January 2025 and the comment period closed September 2025, but no final rule has been issued. The company cited an FDA model projecting it could prevent 48 million young people from starting to smoke and avert 1.8 million tobacco-related deaths by 2060. The release also references a WSJ report that the Trump administration plans to speed authorizations of vapes and nicotine pouches, and argues that a nicotine reduction mandate for combusted products is the complementary policy needed.