Researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health are studying how nicotine reduction in cigarettes could impact smokers, according to a press release from the University.

The University found that participants who smoked cigarettes with a lower nicotine content ended up smoking less.

Lead researcher Joe Koopmeiners said he and his research partner, David Vock, gave people who smoked cigarettes a normal nicotine content and gave others cigarettes with a much lower nicotine content to see how lower nicotine content influenced people’s smoking habits. The research focuses on cigarette usage and does not include other products that contain nicotine, like vapes.

“These trials have all shown that by giving people cigarettes with reduced nicotine content, people will reduce their tobacco use in as short as six weeks,” Koopmeiners said.

Koopmeiners said the FDA wants to mandate the maximum amount of nicotine that can be in a cigarette, as there currently is no limit for nicotine content. The FDA proposed to limit the nicotine content of cigarettes to 0.7 milligrams per gram of tobacco in January 2025, as the average cigarette contains roughly 10 milligrams of nicotine per gram of tobacco.

There is usually one gram of tobacco in each cigarette, according to the European Code Against Cancer.

Koopmeiners said they are taking their research a step further to answer whether nicotine reduction helps people quit smoking, or if it simply decreases the amount of cigarettes individuals smoke per day.

Vock said it is important to look at how nicotine affects different subpopulations, in addition to the general public. People with mental health conditions, for example, might react poorly to cigarettes with less nicotine because they use them as a coping mechanism.  

“If the government decides that we’re going to set a policy of nicotine reduction in cigarettes, everyone has to undergo nicotine reduction,” Vock said. “You might say, on average, this policy seems to help people reduce the amount they smoke, but how does it impact certain vulnerable subpopulations? Are they going to be worse off because they have less nicotine, which they might use as a coping mechanism?”

The team is also looking at how nicotine reduction impacts different age groups and smokers who take other prescription medications, Vock said. 

The team used data collected from the Center for the Evaluation of Nicotine and Cigarettes over the last 13 years, in addition to data from other studies from across the country. The data was initially collected for different studies at the University and other institutions around the country, but all track how smokers react to nicotine reduction. 

Koopmeiners said the researchers are currently working on synthesizing the data.

“It’s a challenging process, just because the way data are collected is slightly different across all the projects,” Koopmeiners said.

Koopmeiners said, ultimately, he hopes their research will inform policymakers about how nicotine reduction in products helps people smoke less and decrease the risks of cancer and other chronic diseases.