For our USA members, there seems to be positive progress on one side and a wittling away of that progress on the other. Vested interests again? Who knows.
Vape News Magazine
Published 2 weeks ago on March 29, 2018 By John Castle
CNBC reports that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration may eventually regulate vapor products as over the counter drugs. In an interview with CNBC’s Meg Tirrell at the “Healthy Returns” conference, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb is quoted as saying:
“Right now, we’re looking very actively at could we bring e-cigarettes into the over the counter regulatory pathway, which would give us many more tools to look at both safety and benefit, and study whether or not an e-cigarette actually does promote smoking cessation and also give us many more tools to actually study the toxicology associated with it and see what effects it might have on the lung.”
Whether this signals good or bad news for consumers and vapor products businesses has yet to be seen; however, there is reason, based on Commissioner Gottlieb’s comments and on the Food & Drug Administration’s acknowledgment of a continuum of risk with tobacco products, that the agency’s approach under this administration will be far less intrusive than its previous stance on vaping. For example, Commissioner Gottlieb also had the following to say:
“At the very time I am trying to take nicotine out of combustible tobacco, I don’t want to be sweeping the market of products that provide an alternative to smokers who want to get access to nicotine.”
The challenge the Food & Drug Administration faces is a substantial one: empowering adult smokers to switch to a less harmful alternative to smoking while preventing underage consumers from accessing nicotine products. Historically, with most smokers already falling into the habit of smoking before the age at which they’re legally able to purchase or possess tobacco products, this challenge may prove as insurmountable in the 21st century as it has always been.
The FDA, however, is expected to tackle that challenge, at least in part, by aggressively monitoring marketing and taking action against products which appear to be marketed toward underage consumers.
FDA May Regulate Vapor Products Over The Counter.
Vape News Magazine
Published 2 weeks ago on March 29, 2018 By John Castle
CNBC reports that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration may eventually regulate vapor products as over the counter drugs. In an interview with CNBC’s Meg Tirrell at the “Healthy Returns” conference, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb is quoted as saying:
“Right now, we’re looking very actively at could we bring e-cigarettes into the over the counter regulatory pathway, which would give us many more tools to look at both safety and benefit, and study whether or not an e-cigarette actually does promote smoking cessation and also give us many more tools to actually study the toxicology associated with it and see what effects it might have on the lung.”
Whether this signals good or bad news for consumers and vapor products businesses has yet to be seen; however, there is reason, based on Commissioner Gottlieb’s comments and on the Food & Drug Administration’s acknowledgment of a continuum of risk with tobacco products, that the agency’s approach under this administration will be far less intrusive than its previous stance on vaping. For example, Commissioner Gottlieb also had the following to say:
“At the very time I am trying to take nicotine out of combustible tobacco, I don’t want to be sweeping the market of products that provide an alternative to smokers who want to get access to nicotine.”
The challenge the Food & Drug Administration faces is a substantial one: empowering adult smokers to switch to a less harmful alternative to smoking while preventing underage consumers from accessing nicotine products. Historically, with most smokers already falling into the habit of smoking before the age at which they’re legally able to purchase or possess tobacco products, this challenge may prove as insurmountable in the 21st century as it has always been.
The FDA, however, is expected to tackle that challenge, at least in part, by aggressively monitoring marketing and taking action against products which appear to be marketed toward underage consumers.