FDA seeks restrictions on e-cigarette sales, other tobacco products

[LuckyTheDog]

The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, proposed rules on Thursday that would ban the sale of e-cigarettes to minors and require manufacturers to add health warning labels, but would not restrict flavored products and online sales or television advertisements of the devices.

The FDA's proposal, which follows the growing popularity of e-cigarettes that generate $2 billion a year in revenues in the U.S., includes regulating e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, nicotine gels, water pipe tobacco and hookahs, and making it mandatory for manufacturers to register their products with the agency. The new measures also propose a health warning on e-cigarettes stating that nicotine is addictive and seek to restrict the distribution of free samples, reports said, adding that many public health advocates were disappointed because restricting flavors and advertising were not part of the proposal.

"This is an important moment for consumer protection," Margaret Hamburg, the FDA commissioner, reportedly said, noting tobacco remains "the leading cause of death and disease in this country." Any further rules "will have to be grounded in our growing body of knowledge and understanding about the use of e-cigarettes and their potential health risks or public health benefits."

Mitchell Zeller, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, reportedly said that regulators are yet to reach a conclusion on scientific evidence for a ruling on flavored products.

MORE HERE: http://wonkynewsnerd.com/fda-seeks-restrictions-e-cigarette/

[frazzled]

1. My state already has a law banning sales to minors

And even before that took effect, sales were behind the counter and not available to minors ... at least at Walgreen's. I think it's fine to ban sale to minors. I'm not sure what the warning label is going to say, however: from my understanding, there is not yet sufficient scientific evidence of what the risks (or non-risks) are.

A 2009 Food and Drug Administration study tested two popular brands of e-cigarettes and did find carcinogens and other toxic chemicals in more than half of the samples. One sample had traces of diethylene glycol, an ingredient in antifreeze.

Another study — conducted by the Drexel University School of Public Health and funded by the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association, a group that advocates for e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco — found e-cigarettes pose no health threat for users or bystanders under generally accepted exposure limits. No study has provided a definitive answer, but all point to e-cigs as safer than regular cigs.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-01-06/opinion/ct-ecigarette-ban-edit-0106-20140106_1_e-cigarettes-nicotine-and-other-ingredients-tobacco

PS: The brand I buy uses vegetable glycerin instead of propylene glycol, and is manufactured in the US. I thought all of that was important before I decided to try.