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By Andrew Stanton
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As President Joe Biden is less than two weeks away from leaving office, some conservatives have accused him of trying to implement a last-minute ban on cigarettes.
Biden, who is set to leave the Oval Office on January 20, has focused efforts throughout his tenure on regulating cigarette companies, including by attempting but failing to pass restrictions on the sale of menthol cigarettes. Proponents of these laws say they carry a significant public health benefit, as smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths per year in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Critics, on the other hand, say stronger regulations would have negative implications for the U.S. economy and could create black markets for stronger products, potentially empowering drug cartels.
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Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email.
The Claim
Several conservative pundits have said Biden is seeking to ban cigarettes on his way out of office.
"The Biden administration is reportedly working to ban cigarettes. A major move that could reshape public health—or infringe on personal freedoms. What's your take?" posted conservative commentator Charlie Kirk to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
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The Facts
The claim stems from a proposed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule that would establish a maximum nicotine level in tobacco products to reduce the addictiveness of cigarettes and other combusted tobacco products, according to a statement provided to Newsweek by the FDA.
The regulation wouldn't ban the sale of cigarettes but only require the level of nicotine to remain below a certain threshold, the specifics of which haven't been made publicly available.
The goal of this regulation is to make cigarettes less addictive, but other risks would be unchanged.
It completed regulatory review by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on January 3, 2025, and it's unclear whether it will go into effect before Biden leaves office.
"As the FDA has previously said, a proposed product standard to establish a maximum nicotine level to reduce the addictiveness of cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products, when finalized, is estimated to be among the most impactful population-level actions in the history of U.S. tobacco product regulation," the FDA statement reads.
The proposed rule has sparked criticism from some Republicans, including Representative Ronny Jackson of Texas, who on Fox News' program Hannity Tuesday said that while smoking leads to heart disease and lung cancer, it's still a "personal choice" Americans should have the right to make.
Biden earlier sought to implement a ban on menthol cigarettes in an effort to "reduce tobacco addiction and curb deaths" and "address health disparities." In April 2024, however, the White House announced the plan would be delayed.
The Ruling
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Needs Context.
While the FDA is eyeing a regulation to reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes, this isn't a full ban on cigarettes.
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