Menthol cigarettes and cigarettes with a high level of nicotine can both be in the hood block, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg report, as the Biden government considers new restrictions on tobacco products sold in the US. Major tobacco company and Marlboro parent Altria Group (NYSE: MO) an international cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) both slipped lower in the afternoon trading on the news.
Although Biden’s government did not comment directly on the news, sources said a major reduction in nicotine levels was being considered. The move will be aimed at making tobacco products less addictive and theoretically making healthier alternative products more theoretically attractive.
Image Source: Getty Images.
In addition, the FDA could try a complete ban on menthol cigarettes. According to the Centers for Disease Control website, menthol ‘makes cigarettes look less hard and more attractive to new smokers and young people’, while the cigarettes are claimed to be just as harmful to health and even addictive as regular tobacco products. The ban, if introduced, is aimed at the type of cigarette most people from 12 to 17 years old smoke.
Due to an existing lawsuit, the FDA must choose to request a ban by April 29 or not. Altria responded to the possible changes with an email saying that a decision “should be based on science” and said that the government is also growing an illegal market and the impact on hundreds of thousands of jobs as a result of its policies , reported Bloomberg.
While the established tobacco sellers got a stock market hit, 22nd Century Group (NYSEMKT: XXII) jumped more than 10%. The company genetically designs tobacco plants to contain less nicotine, enabling it to offer low-nicotine-producing cigarettes, along with the growing cannabinoid cannabis.
This article represents the opinion of the author, who may not be in agreement with the ‘official’ recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. We are furry! When we question an investment thesis – even one of our own – it helps us all to think critically about investing and to make decisions that help us become smarter, happier and richer.