The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the marketing of two new tobacco products manufactured by 22nd Century Group Inc. – Moonlight and Moonlight Menthol, which are combusted, filtered cigarettes that contain a reduced amount of nicotine.
FDA determined that authorizing these reduced nicotine products for sale in the US is appropriate for the protection of public health because of the potential to reduce nicotine dependence in adult smokers. The agency also said that non-smokers, including youth, are also unlikely to start using the products.
However, FDA was quick to point out that while its authorization permits these reduced nicotine products to be legally sold or distributed in the US, “it does not mean these products are safe or ‘FDA-approved’,” noting that the Moonlight and Moonlight Menthol cigarettes differ from conventional cigarettes in nicotine content only.