E-Cigarette Industry Calls FDA Rules 'Draconian'

(5 May 2016) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus054919

The vaping industry says the lengthy federal reviews announced on Thursday would be time-consuming and costly.
They warn that the rules could also put many smaller companies out of business.
The executive director for the largest trade group representing the vapor industry says the rules "appear to be somewhat draconian, which neither helps public health, in our opinion, nor does it help the businesses that have worked so hard in this space for so many years."
Cynthia Cabrera says the regulations could hurt an industry that helps smokers quit smoking.
Cabrera says tobacco smoking, which vaping often replaces represents a greater risk to public health.
The rules issued by the Food and Drug Administration would also extend long-standing restrictions on traditional cigarettes to a host of other products, including e-cigarettes, hookah, pipe tobacco and nicotine gels.
Minors would be banned from buying the products.
E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that turn liquid nicotine into an inhalable vapor.
They lack the chemicals and tars of burning tobacco, but the cigarettes have not been extensively studied, and there's no scientific consensus on the risks or advantages of "vaping."
More than 15 percent of high school students report using e-cigarettes, up more than 900 percent over the last five years, according to federal figures.
Beginning in August, retailers will be prohibited from selling the tobacco products to anyone under 18, placing them in vending machines or distributing free samples.
While nearly all states already ban sales of e-cigarettes to minors, federal officials said they will be able to impose stiffer penalties and deploy more resources to enforcement.


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