The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Dilemma: How Tightly to Regulate Electronic Cigarettes?
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Schroeder, S.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Dilemma: How Tightly to Regulate Electronic Cigarettes?
Ann Intern Med. October 8, 2018. Epub ahead of print.
Concerned about the surge in young people's use of electronic cigarettes in general and the new and widely popular JUUL brand (JUUL Labs) in particular, Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Scott Gottlieb announced on 12 September 2018 a 3-part action plan coupled with a warning to product manufacturers. The plan focuses on reducing youth access, curbing marketing to youths, and educating adolescents about the dangers of using any tobacco products (1). The FDA sent letters to the 5 e-cigarette manufacturers that together represent more than 97% of the current market—JUUL, Nuse, MarkTen, blu, and Logic—requesting that they “come back to the FDA in 60 days with robust plans on how they'll convincingly address the widespread use of their products by minors” (1). The explicit FDA threat is accelerating regulation originally deferred to 2022, which includes removal of flavored products from the market.
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