Nicotine down, job losses up

Altria says that making it mandatory that all cigarettes sold in the US deliver very low levels of nicotine could cost up to 951,000 jobs, according to a story by Uliana Pavlova for Bloomberg News.
A rule proposed by the US Food and Drug Administration would require all cigarettes sold in the US to contain minimally or non-addictive levels of nicotine.
The proposal has been the subject of an FDA Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, to which comments have been sought.
Altria reportedly said that, if implemented, the proposal would cause a net loss, directly or indirectly, of up to 951,000 jobs, and that the nation’s unemployment rate could rise from 3.9 percent to 4.5 percent.
The company, which employed 8,300 employees at the end of 2017, estimates that tobacco growers, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and distributors would all feel the impact.
ITG Brands said that the proposed changes would create a robust black market.