The second proclamation from the Biden administration Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials came in mid-January and has the potential to change the future of cigarettes. One week before transitioning to the new administration, the FDA issued a proposed rule change to reduce the maximum level of nicotine allowed.
“The proposed rule would cap nicotine levels at 0.7 milligrams per gram of product for cigarettes, smaller cigars and other combustible tobacco products. However, premium cigars and hookah tobacco are explicitly exempted from these new limits,” explained Jeremy Weiner, category director of cigars and premium products for Smoker Friendly. The Boulder, Colo.-based company is part of the family of stores owned and operated by The Cigarette Store Group, which also includes Tobacco Depot, Smoke ‘N Go, Havana Manor and Gasamat.
By rule, the FDA opened a call for public comments on the change for up to 240 days. But just two days after President Donald Trump took office, a notice from the Department of Health and Human Services noted that the FDA’s plans for nicotine limits had been moved to the long-term actions category, meaning they are now a low priority. The deprioritization, however, is unlikely to impact the comment period, which is still open through September, but time will tell what happens after that.
In a major win for the industry, the day after President Trump took office, the FDA also withdrew its two proposals that would ban the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. David Spross, executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets, told CStore Decisions that it is unlikely the menthol and flavored cigar bans will be reintroduced under the Trump administration, however it’s possible they could reappear under a future administration. If this were to occur, the final rules would have to be sent back to the Office of Management and Budget before they could be published and implemented.
While these legislative victories are reason to celebrate, cigarettes are nonetheless continuing to lose traction.
“The cigarette segment has continued to decline year over year. However, through loyalty, signage and other efforts, we have declined at a slower rate than our trading area. While we do offer some premium cigarettes, these have been less of our focus than the traditional brands,” said Nathan Arnold, director of marketing for Heath, Ohio-based Englefield Oil, which operates 117 Duchess Convenience Stores in Ohio and West Virginia.
Circana reported that convenience stores nationwide earned $51.3 billion from cigarette sales in 2024, but that’s down almost 3.8% year over year. Unit sales last year added up to 5.47 billion, but that fell by 8.3%.
Another regulatory decision for the segment came from the U.S. Supreme Court in November when it declined to hear the tobacco manufacturers’ petition to dismiss the mandated cigarette warnings rule. Established in 2020, manufacturers are required to print a warning on at least one-half of both sides of packaging that includes illustrations of the health consequences of smoking. The rule applies to advertising materials, too, such as countertop displays or in-store signage.
After years of lawsuits traversing the myriad courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed an earlier decision that photorealistic medical portrayals would convey the pertinent health facts and therefore didn’t impinge on companies’ rights and met the legal standards for compelled speech. The high court’s denial keeps that decision in play. The lawsuit now returns to a lower court to hear petitioners’ claims that the labels violate the Administrative Procedure Act.
The FDA was originally expected to begin enforcement in December 2025, but on Jan. 14, the District Court entered a preliminary injunction and postponed the rule’s effective date until entry of final judgment in the litigation.
