Federal health officials take first step to drastically cut nicotine levels in cigarettes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials took the first step Thursday to slash levels of addictive nicotine in cigarettes, an unprecedented move designed to help smokers quit and prevent future generations from getting hooked.
The Food and Drug Administration floated the proposal last summer, but provided new details in a government filing on the potential impact of drastically cutting nicotine from cigarettes, by as much as 80 percent.
The Kipembawe Division is hidden in the southern highlands of south-west Tanzania, a long seven-hour drive north from the city of Mbeya.
The scenery is stunning, yet when you look closer you can see that tobacco plants dominate agricultural areas, and the sound of trees being felled is a constant background noise. Just the word “tobacco” conjures up vivid imagery of death and disease, as depicted on graphic cigarette packets and through hard-hitting anti-smoking campaigns.
