The agency, which first said it meant to regulate e-cigarettes in 2014, also imposed the regulations on cigars, hookahs and pipe tobacco. The new rules go into effect in 90 days.
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A 2009 law gave the FDA authority to regulate some aspects of traditional tobacco products, but it didn’t cover e-cigarettes.
The changes were greeted with cheers from health advocacy groups.
Electronic cigarettes are battery operated devices that deliver nicotine infused with flavorings. That vapor is then inhaled in a process called “vaping”.
Other restrictions include requiring a photo ID for purchases and prohibiting free samples and vending machine sales.
The FDA will also require new health warnings on packages and ads, and hundreds of e-cigarette brands will be forced to get permission to stay on the market, having to submit products for FDA review, including lists of ingredients. “A new generation hooked on a highly-addictive chemical”, said HHS Secretary Sylvia Burnwell.
Health advocates countered that the rule is crucial, particularly given the rapid rise in e-cig use among young people.
Jeff Stier is a senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research, which receives 1.4 percent of its support from the tobacco and e-cigarette industry. An estimated 3 million middle school and high school students used the product a year ago.
Right now, there are several people fighting against them hoping to help keep small shops in business.
“In that marketplace, a marketplace that we likened to the wild, wild west, many more kids use e-cigarettes than regular cigarettes”, Zeller added.
Representatives of the e-cigarette industry have supported bans on sales to minors but argued Thursday that some of the rules put forward by the agency will endanger the market for products that have the potential to help people move away from traditional tobacco.
“Now it is time for the federal government to follow California’s lead and ban the outrageous marketing of e-cigarettes to children”. They contend the flavors, which can range from bacon to bubble gum, lure youngsters into taking up vaping. The FDA did ban flavors in cigars. E-cigarettes were first developed in China in 2003 and arrived three years later to the US and Europe.
Cigars had previously not been regulated by the FDA. Their makers had lobbied for their more expensive, typically hand-rolled products to be excluded from such oversight.
Since nearly all vapor products on the market were released after February 2007, hardly any will avoid a PMTA and nearly no businesses, with the exception of big tobacco companies, will be able to bear the regulatory burden.
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The new requirements are likely to setup a legal showdown with manufacturers, many who have warned that the costs of complying with FDA regulation could wipe out their industry.
