The Food and Drug Administration’s recent decision to impose regulations on e-cigarettes is a welcome move, and it is an important signal the government intends to stem what has become a threat to the health of the nation’s youth.
The FDA’s tight regulation of traditional tobacco cigarettes over nearly 50 years has shown that science and reasonable restrictions can turn public opinion against harmful practices, even if they previously had been a long-accepted part of the culture. In this case, the need is to keep new, suddenly popular products from gaining a foothold.
Oddly, Utah has been among the states with the fastest increase in e-cigarette usage among young people. A Prevention Needs Assessment in 2013 found 19.9 percent of students in the eighth through 12th grades in Morgan and Weber counties used the products, most of which contain nicotine, a drug that can be harmful to developing brains.
The immediate effect of the announcement, which is that sales of these products will be prohibited to anyone under 18, is of little consequence. Many states already impose age limits. But the other requirements — full disclosure of advertising methods by the end of this year and of ingredients by Feb. 8, 2017, as well as the addition of warning labels by June 2018 — will do much to protect the public.
Until now, mystery has surrounded much of the e-cigarette industry. Exact measurements of various chemicals in the cigarettes’ vapor liquid cores have varied from product to product. Earlier this year, media reports said some e-cigarettes were exploding in pockets or in the faces of users, causing visits to hospital emergency rooms.
Utah lawmakers have been reluctant to control ingredients, preferring to defer to the FDA. Now the FDA will do further studies on the products itself and on the effects of advertising on youths and others who previously did not smoke traditional cigarettes.
Some are complaining the new rules will make it harder to use e-cigarettes to quit smoking. They are on shaky scientific ground. Little evidence exists to suggest e-cigarettes are effective in helping smokers kick the habit. Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA Center for Tobacco Products, was quoted as saying studies show as many as 70 percent of adult e-cigarette users also continue smoking regular cigarettes.
From now on, manufacturers will be prohibited from advertising e-cigarettes as healthy substitutes for cigarettes unless they can cite hard scientific evidence to back their claims. At the moment, that does not exist.
The rules also prohibit sellers from providing free samples. Critics say this will keep smokers from trying different flavors to see which ones they like best, which might discourage them and keep them addicted to regular cigarettes. However, it is more likely the various tantalizing flavors are more enticing to underage smokers than to longtime users of cigarettes.
Nothing in the FDA’s new rules would make e-cigarettes illegal. Evidence shows they are, indeed, safer than traditional cigarettes. They are not safe, however. The FDA’s acknowledgment of this, and its decision to regulate these products, are positive steps.