A study of California high school students last year found that 14-year-olds who tried e-cigarettes were more likely to switch to tobacco within a year.
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The change is “a foundational step that enables the FDA to regulate products young people were using at alarming rates, like e-cigarettes, cigars, and hookah tobacco, that had gone largely unregulated”, says Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, in a statement. The FDA already regulates cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and roll-your-own tobacco products.
“With this rule, the FDA will be able to prevent misleading claims and provide consumers with information to help them better understand tobacco use”, FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf said at a press conference.
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.
E-cigarettes didn’t fall under previous regulations because they don’t contain tobacco.
Hundreds of e-cigarette brands will have to undergo a lengthy review to stay on the market. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell explained after making the announcement Thursday, “These regulations are common sense. Something that should have been done years ago”, said Jeff Temple, Ph.D, from the UT Medical Branch spoke to KXAN via skype from his Galveston office.
While teenagers seem to be tiring of traditional cigarettes, their smoking habits have given rise to other nicotine products, specifically e-cigs-battery-operated devices that turn nicotine and other chemicals into a vapor that is inhaled by the user.
According to the FDA, young peoples’ traditional cigarette use has fallen over the past decade, but their use of other tobacco products is climbing.
The FDA will require every shop to send every one of their products in for testing.
The federal government will be taking a harder look at how e-cigarettes are marketed.
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These changes will go into effect in 90 days beginning in August.
