The announcement, however, does not say that e-cigarettes in general should be banned.
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Under the new rules, all tobacco products not now regulated that hit stores after February 2007 will need an FDA stamp of approval.
The new regulations also cover other products like hookahs, cigars and pipe tobacco. According to the FDA, electronic cigarette use among high schoolers has skyrocketed from 1.5 percent in 2011 to 16 percent in 2015-a more than a 900 percent increase.
But the FDA hasn’t imposed any regulations on flavored tobacco products yet; that’s something advocacy groups are concerned about because research suggests the flavors might attract teen smokers. Manufacturers will also be required to list their production facilities and products, as well as disclose their ingredients and include health warnings on packaging and advertisements.
Medical organizations have long called for the restrictions and US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said the rule is step toward preventing avoidable deaths and nicotine addiction.
Until now, all of those products “had gone largely unregulated” said Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products.
E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that do not contain the chemicals and tar that is present in tobacco. This new rule will have a profound effect on the e-cigarette industry and the culture of vaping, which has exploded in popularity in recent years. “I just don’t want to see people go back to smoking because vaping’s become more expensive”, Siegel said.
“Probably 80 percent of them is 40 or older, people looking to quit smoking”, said Scott Siegel of his customer base at Vape Girls in Huber Heights.
The past four years, Fridley’s E-cig & Supply has been in business selling e-cigarettes, nicotine gel and accessories.
The Food and Drug Administration has announced sweeping new regulations on E-cigarettes and tobacco products. “That’s unreachable for any e-liquid manufacturer”.
“I think it’s a great start”, he said.
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California already barred people under the age of 18 from buying e-cigarettes, so the federal rule won’t change that.
