FDA Announces New E Cigarette Regulations

The Food and Drug Administration has announced a new series of regulations to control e-cigarettes and cigars. Other tobacco products will also be affected by these new rulings.

The FDA already regulated cigarettes, bulk and smokeless tobacco. The new announcement extends their power to control electronic cigarettes, hookahs and all pipe tobacco.

Under the new regulations, purchasers of any of these products will need to be at least 18 years old. Some states may establish higher age limits. The agency will also need to approve any advertising claiming reduced risk from tobacco use.

Free samples from tobacco manufacturers and distributors would be prohibited, and all companies selling tobacco products will need to register with the FDA.

The FDA regulations are subject to a 75-day waiting period, during which the agency will collect feedback from the public.

Tobacco sales from vending machines will be prohibited. Packaging for all affected products will be required, warning users of health risks. When new rules go into effect, warnings about addiction wold be the only mandatory labels on e-cigarettes.

Vaporizers contain a small amount of nicotine in liquid form. When a user presses a button, the sample is heated until some of the material converts into vapor. These devices have not yet been subject to federal regulation, a situation which FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg described as “the wild, wild, west.”

The government official worries that e-cigarettes “might be a gateway to other harmful tobacco products” for young people.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, during February, there were 215 calls to poison centers nationwide involving e-cigarettes. Just over 100 of these calls involved minors, Hamburg told the press. There are roughly 80 million people under the age of 19 living in the United States, and 42 million adult smokers.

The FDA commissioner stated, “We think that there’s a lot of information that needs to be understood about e-cigarettes and their use. We’re trying to help provide some of that information through research that we’re conducting.”

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/24/health/fda-e-cigarette-regulations

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/fda-e-cigarette-cigar-regulations-roll-out

http://www.bustle.com/articles/22217-fda-proposes-e-cigarette-ban-for-minors-plans-to-regulate-other-

tobacco

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/health/fda-will-propose-new-regulations-for-e-cigarettes.html?

hpw&rref=us

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/24/fda-e-cigarette-rules/8050875