FDA Announces New Regulations on E-Cigarettes and Flavored Tobacco
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site.
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced new restrictions on the sales of flavored e-cigarettes and proposed a ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.
The move was, in part, a response to skyrocketing rates of e-cigarette use by teens, reflected in numbers released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Juul, the leading e-cigarette manufacturer, also announced earlier this week that it would stop selling flavored Juul pods in all stores, only selling those products online to consumers who are at least 21 years old.
The FDA did not specify a timeline for implementing the new proposals, which include:
A ban on the sale of flavored e-cigarettes (with an exception for menthol and mint flavors) in stores that don’t have restricted areas that kids under 18 cannot enter, which the agency says should keep e-cigs off the shelves of most convenience stores and gas stations.
An outright ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.
New age-verification standards for online stores selling e-cigarettes, and plans for redoubled enforcement of any e-cigarette marketing directed toward minors.
“The bottom line is that these efforts ... would dramatically impact the ability of American kids to access tobacco products that we know are both appealing and addicting,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement announcing the new plans.
Here’s what you need to know about the new regulations, and the thinking behind them.
Will the New Regulations Be Effective?
It's too soon to say.
But the plans to ban flavored cigars and menthol cigarettes “will have a greater impact in reducing tobacco use by youth and the African-American community than any regulatory measure ever undertaken by the federal government,” the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said in a statement.
Vaping groups said the e-cigarette restrictions would be harmful to smokers trying to quit. “This reported move by Commissioner Gottlieb will only make it harder for adult smokers to switch to a far less harmful alternative,” says Gregory Conley, president of the e-cigarette group American Vaping Association.
The rules on e-cigarettes actually don’t go far enough, according to anti-smoking groups.
“Taking some flavors out of some stores and putting some of the flavors behind a curtain or in vape shops is not enough to protect young people," says Robin Koval, CEO and president of Truth Initiative, an anti-tobacco nonprofit organization. "We urge the FDA to eliminate the flavors, not just to hide them behind a black curtain, and to eliminate online sales.”
William Wallace, senior policy analyst for Consumer Reports, says the new proposals were welcome, but also called on the FDA to go further.
"The FDA is taking some necessary steps designed to protect children and teens, but the agency's success or failure will rest on how aggressively it continues to crack down on manufacturers and retailers," he says. "We urge the FDA to make use of its statutory authority and take enforcement actions to the fullest extent under the law."
How Dangerous Are E-Cigarettes?
E-cigarettes are often promoted as a means to stop smoking.
Yet while they’re in most ways less harmful than traditional cigarettes, according to a report released in January by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), they are not risk-free.
The primary concern most experts have about youth e-cigarette use is that most of these products contain nicotine, which is addictive, says Jonathan Klein, M.D., M.P.H., a professor of pediatrics at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Nicotine alone is not carcinogenic, but it’s not benign, he says. Over time, it can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, and young people who use e-cigarettes are significantly more likely to try cigarettes or to become smokers.
E-cigarettes also expose users to toxic heavy metals, according to the NASEM report, as well as cancer-causing chemicals—though in most cases at lower levels than traditional cigarettes.
With poorly made e-cigarettes, there’s also the risk they could explode—something a 2016 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found was rare but more common than previously thought.
Still, most scientists say e-cigarettes are far safer than traditional cigarettes, says David Abrams, a behavioral and population health researcher who studies tobacco control at New York University.
“If the choices are between being addicted to a toxic smoke product like a cigarette or being able to be addicted to nicotine, then I’d much rather you were addicted to nicotine in a less harmful delivery like an e-cigarette,” he says.
How Much Are Kids Using Them?
Gottlieb, the FDA commissioner, has described youth e-cigarette use an epidemic, and CDC data released today shows that rates of vaping among minors continue to rise rapidly.
In 2011, 1.5 percent of high schoolers (220,000) reported being current e-cigarette users. This year, over 20% of high schoolers (3.05 million) report being current users, a 78 percent increase from just last year. About five percent of middle school students (570,000 kids) report being current e-cigarette users, a rise of 48 percent over the past year.
These skyrocketing rates are concerning because kids are more susceptible to nicotine addiction, according to Klein, and because kids who use e-cigarettes are more likely to try regular cigarettes, according to Koval.
Despite those concerns, scientists have questioned whether using e-cigarettes directly causes kids to smoke regular cigarettes. The kids who try e-cigarettes are the same ones who experiment with other harmful behaviors, says Abrams.
But experts agree that the safest thing for kids and teens is to not use any nicotine products in the first place. They suggest that parents talk with kids about these products, and explain that e-cigarettes aren’t risk-free even if they aren’t the same as combustible cigarettes. (See here for more about what parents should know about e-cigarettes.)
Gottlieb said on Twitter that the FDA would monitor the market and consider additional steps if youth vaping rates don’t decline after the new regulations are implemented.
What’s the Problem With Flavored E-Cigarettes?
The FDA targeted flavored e-cigarettes in particular because kids find the ones with candy, fruit, or mintlike flavors particularly appealing, research has found.
“The issue with flavorings in both traditional combustible cigarettes and in e-cigarettes is that the flavorings are deliberately structured to appeal to young people and to teens,” says Klein.
Anti-tobacco groups say that having any flavors available in some stores and online is problematic, as they’ll still be appealing for youth. “By only addressing e-cigarette flavors at some points of sale, it doesn’t really address the fact that those flavors are still out there in the market and still likely to be attractive to young people,” says Klein.
And existing restrictions haven’t kept kids younger than 18 from obtaining these products.
Vaping groups and scientists focused on harm-reduction, however, say that smokers may be more likely to stop smoking completely if they switch to flavored e-cigarettes instead of tobacco-flavored e-cigs.
What’s the Problem With Menthol Cigarettes and Flavored Cigars?
Young users are more likely to smoke both menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, which often means these products are the first introduction to nicotine addiction, according to the FDA announcement.
Menthol cigarettes are also especially popular among African-Americans, according to the CDC. “For decades, data have shown that the tobacco industry has successfully and intentionally marketed mentholated cigarettes to African Americans and particularly African American women,” the NAACP said in a statement applauding the ban.
The group also cited research suggesting that for some smokers, quitting menthol cigarettes may be even harder than quitting regular cigarettes.
More from Consumer Reports:
Top pick tires for 2016
Best used cars for $25,000 and less
7 best mattresses for couples
Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright © 2018, Consumer Reports, Inc.
