FDA unveils sweeping anti-tobacco effort to reduce underage vaping and smoking
Source: Washington Post
FDA unveils sweeping anti-tobacco effort to reduce underage vaping and smoking
Agency targets e-cigarettes, flavored cigars and menthol cigarettes.
By Laurie McGinley November 15 at 10:11 AM
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday launched a multipronged attack on the rising underage use of tobacco products, imposing sharp sales restrictions on flavored e-cigarettes and announcing plans to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.
The FDA says it will limit sales of many flavored e-cigarettes to brick-and-mortar outlets that have either age-restricted entry or areas inside stores that are not accessible to people under 18. Such restrictions are tantamount to a ban for many convenience stores and gas stations, but not for specialty vape and tobacco stores, said a top agency official. The FDA also will require stepped-up age verification for online sales.
The new limits reflect health experts' concerns that e-cigarette use could lead to nicotine addiction early in life and affect the developing adolescent brain, and that some e-cigarette users will go on to smoke more dangerous regular cigarettes.
Perhaps even more significant than the e-cigarette steps are the FDAs commitments to propose bans on menthol in cigarettes and cigars, as well as other flavors in cigars. Such prohibitions will require new regulations that could take years to go into effect, and could be derailed by opposition from the cigarette industry. If successful, though, the bans could have an especially significant impact on African-American adults and youth, who smoke menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars at higher rates than other groups.
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Read more:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2018/11/15/fda-unveils-sweeping-anti-tobacco-effort-reduce-underage-vaping-smoking/