The Biden administration is floating a long-awaited proposal to make cigarettes less addictive by capping their nicotine levels.

But Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchison announced Tuesday he is dropping the state’s mask mandate immediately, a day earlier than previously announced. Gretchen Whitmer to ask whether the White House has considered surging additional vaccines to states with rapidly increasing infection rates. Kay Ivey intends for her state’s mask mandate to end on April 9 as planned, though she urged people to wear masks as a matter of personal responsibility. Eric Holcomb, to reconsider dropping the state’s mask mandate.

(AP Photo/Richard Vogel)With a COVID-19 vaccine perhaps just days away in the U.S., most of California headed into another lockdown Sunday because of the surging outbreak and top health officials warned Americans that this is no time to let their guard down. With the U.S. facing what could be a catastrophic winter, top government officials warned Americans anew to wear masks, practice social distancing and follow other basic measures — precautions that President Donald Trump and other members of the administration have often disdained. The new rules in the state of 40 million people prohibit residents from gathering with those outside their household. California health authorities imposed the order after ICU capacity fell below a 15% threshold in some regions. Current estimates project that a combined total of no more than 40 million doses will be available by the end of the year.

Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesThe vast majority of Americans support lowering the amount of nicotine in cigarettes, according to a report released Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A study published in 2018 found that reduced nicotine levels in cigarettes could save more than 8 million lives over the next century and prevent more than 30 million people from starting to smoke regularly. The new report did not address e-cigarettes or tobacco products other than cigarettes. Trump administration considers new rulesThe US government has for years mulled lowering nicotine levels in cigarettes. A 2014 report from the Office of the Surgeon General argued that lowering nicotine to non-addictive levels could help eliminate smoking.