Over one year ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a new rule to extend its authority to cover electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and additional unregulated tobacco products, such as cigars. In a letter of support for the proposed rule, the ACC joined numerous health care organizations to urge  President Obama to take action immediately and finalize the regulation.

The proposed rule is an extension of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act passed in 2009, which granted the FDA authority to regulate cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, and smokeless tobacco. With no federal oversight of e-cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products, there are no restrictions in place to protect public health against the risks of these products. The ACC is specifically concerned with the health risks to youth, as manufacturers currently are able to target younger consumers with candy- and fruit-flavored products, and do not use childproof packaging for liquid nicotine containers.

The proposed rule would require manufacturers to submit new tobacco products for FDA review before marketing and would also add the following provisions to new products: minimum age and identification restrictions to prevent sales to underage youth; requirements to include health warnings; and prohibition of vending machine sales, unless in a facility that never admits youth.

This public health regulation is long overdue. On Twitter? Join the ACC and send the following tweet to urge the President to finalize the regulation:

Did you know there’s no federal oversight for ecigs & #cigars? @WhiteHouse must have @FDATobacco set common-sense rules NOW.

Keywords: Adolescent, Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, Nicotine, Product Packaging, Public Health, Smoking, Tobacco, Tobacco, Smokeless, United States Food and Drug Administration

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