turn is named after the French ambassador in Portugal, Jean Nicot de Villemain, who sent tobacco and seeds to Paris in 1560, presented to the French King, and who promoted their medicinal use. Smoking was believed to protect against illness, particularly the plague. Tobacco was introduced to Europe in 1559, and by the late 17th century, it was used not only for smoking but also as an insecticide. After World War II, over 2,500 tons of nicotine insecticide were used worldwide, but by the 1980s the use of nicotine insecticide had declined below 200 tons. This was due to the availability of other insecticides that are cheaper and less harmful to mammals. The nicotine content of popular American-brand cigarettes has increased over time, and one study found that there was an average increase of 1.78% per year between the years of 1998 and 2005. Although methods of production of synthetic nicotine have existed for decades, it was believed that the cost of making nicotine by laboratory synthesis was cost prohibitive compared to extracting nicotine from tobacco. However, recently synthetic nicotine started to be found in different brands of e-cigarettes and oral pouches and marketed as “tobacco-free.” The US FDA is tasked with reviewing tobacco products such as e-cigarettes and determining which can be authorized for sale. In response to the likelihood that FDA would not authorize many e-cigarettes to be marketed, e-cigarette companies began marketing products that they claimed to contain nicotine that were not made or derived from tobacco, but contained synthetic nicotine instead, and thus, would be outside FDA’s tobacco regulatory authority. Similarly, nicotine pouches that claimed to contain non-tobacco (synthetic) nicotine were also introduced. The cost of synthetic nicotine has decreased as the market for the product increased. In March 2022, the U.S. Congress passed a law (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022) that expanded FDA’s tobacco regulatory authority to include tobacco products containing nicotine from any source, thereby including products made with synthetic nicotine. Legal status In the United States, nicotine products and Nicotine Replacement Therapy products like Nicotrol are only available to persons 21 and above; proof of age is required; not for sale in vending machine or from any source where proof of age cannot be verified. As of 2019, the minimum age to use tobacco in the US is 21 at the federal level. In the European Union, the minimum age to purchase nicotine