Tobacco Stocks Jump on FDA Delays for Cutting Nicotine Levels

Shares of tobacco stocks were headed higher on Wednesday after the Food & Drug Administration delayed its plans to cut nicotine levels in cigarettes.

It was in 2017 that the FDA announced a plan to make cigarettes minimally or non-addictive. According to a Bloomberg report, in the organization’s newly updated list of regulations it plans to work on, it does not include a regulation to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes.

On the news, shares of Philip Morris went up about 1%, Altria rose 3%, and British American Tobacco rose 4%.
FDA spokesman Michael Felberbaum said the omission from the so-called unified agenda does not mean the FDA will stop working on it.

“The agency has focused on regulations that reflect its most immediate priorities in this fall 2019 unified agenda,” Felberbaum explained.

The FDA is also wanting to ban menthol cigarettes, but the reguulation with menthol seems to have too stalled.
“We continue to review all of the evidence related to flavored tobacco products, including menthol,” Felberbaum said in a statement.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.