The popularity of electronic cigarettes has made it a challenge for big tobacco companies to sustain the public demand for their products. With the innovation of electronic cigarettes a new breed of smokers has been born, the vapers.
In relation to this increased public demand for electronic cigarettes, the Food and Drug Administration or FDA has made proposals in the aim to regulate the product and all associated substances such as liquid nicotine. However, according to an article published in The American, “The FDA’s proposed regulation should not go forward in its current form, or it will undermine efforts to persuade smokers to switch to e-cigarettes and will endanger public health.”
The FDA’s Regulation Proposal
The proposal categorizes the regulation under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. This step has its advantages mainly including prohibited sale of electronic cigarettes to minors, a visible nicotine warning as well as other provisions that clearly state the destructive effects of electronic cigarette use.
The Regulation’s Perceived Oversight
The regulation proposal does not allow sellers/vendors to mention necessary and appropriate health statements without it being approved by the agency first. Although this is a sensible policy, the statement approval requires a long and difficult process. Since the agency is visibly informing consumers of the electronic cigarettes’ dangerous effects, it must also allow sellers to inform their customers electronic cigarettes do not burn tobacco like conventional cigarettes. This makes it a safer alternative for adult smokers compared to the conventional cigarettes.
The statement approval also states that new electronic cigarette products are required to submit applications with FDA before being launched in the market. Since most of products were produced after February 2007, the requirement applies to most if not all electronic cigarette products on the market today.
The administrative obstacles faced by electronic cigarette manufacturers will have grave effects to the market according to an analysis done by the FDA. Only the big tobacco companies have the capacity to move forward with the premarket applications requiring time and hundreds of thousands of dollars. This means that most electronic cigarette companies will be methodically stricken off the market because of the administrative obstacles.
FDA’s Workshop on Electronic Cigarettes
So how is the Food and Drug Administration addressing this oversight backed up by consumers and manufacturers? The FDA announced a workshop solely for electronic cigarettes and the associated public health concerns this coming December 10-11 2014 in Maryland.
The DFA aims to gather information from the world’s scientists, manufacturers, health care professionals who will present reports on the most current information related to electronic cigarettes and public health. The discussion will revolve around five important areas: Device Design, E-Liquid and Aerosol Constituents, Interactions of Device Design, E-Liquids, and Aerosol, Packaging and Labeling, and Environmental Impact.
At the end of the day and after the data is collected, the regulatory decisions are still in the hands of the FDA. All the consumers and manufacturers can do is to wait until the final regulation is passed.