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Study: Cut Nicotine in Cigarettes
Cigarette smoking is largely a 20th century development, the report noted. Prior to that Americans consumed tobacco primarily as chewing tobacco or cigars.
In 1900 adults smoked approximately 54 cigarettes per year, the report said. By 1963 per capita consumption had risen to 4,345 cigarettes per year.
  The Food and Drug Administration should regulate tobacco and develop a plan to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes, the Institute of Medicine urged Thursday. (AP Graphic) (AP) 
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The report said that while smoking in the United States has declined by more than 50 percent since 1964, tobacco use still claims about 440,000 lives every year and secondhand smoke causes another 50,000 deaths annually. Smoking-related health costs are estimated to be $89 billion a year.
Other recommendations of the report include:
_ Dedicating $15 to $20 per capita annually of the proceeds from higher taxes or other resources to fund tobacco control efforts in each state.
_ Requiring all health insurance plans to provide smoking cessation program benefits.
_ Licensing retail outlets that sell tobacco products.
_ Launching additional efforts aimed at curbing youth interest in smoking and access to tobacco, including bans on online sales of tobacco products and direct-to-consumer shipments.
_ Limiting tobacco advertising and promotional displays to text-only, black-and-white formats.
_ Requiring new, large pictorial warnings on the harmful effects of smoking _ similar to those required in Canada _ on all cigarette packs and cartons.
The National Academy of Sciences is an independent organization chartered by Congress to advise the government on scientific matters. The report was sponsored by the American Legacy Foundation, the anti-smoking organization established in 1999 as part of the settlement between state attorneys general and the tobacco industry.
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On the Net:
Institute of Medicine: http:/
American Legacy Foundation: http:/
