In the final days of the Biden administration, the Food and Drug Administration is seeking White House approval to propose a drastic reduction in the amount of nicotine in cigarettes, a long-standing goal of public health experts that has faced stiff opposition from the powerful tobacco lobby.

The FDA submitted the proposal to the Office of Management and Budget only on Tuesday, a sign that the move was perhaps more wishful and symbolic than realistic for a White House juggling many late-term agenda items. And traditionally, the budget office’s review of agency proposals can take months.

“I think it’s a milestone in progress toward the single most game-changing tobacco regulatory policy, in terms of lives that could be saved, that FDA could ever do,” said Mitch Zeller, a former director of the agency’s tobacco center. “Having said that, it’s only a proposed rule.” Even if the FDA receives clearance from the White House to advance the proposal, whether it can survive once President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January is unclear, given the sustained opposition from the industry. — The New York Times