SUMMARY: State governments continue to crack down on flavored e-cigarettes and other vape products, largely in response to the deaths and illnesses that began coming to light this past summer. But as lawmakers deliberate over their policy response to vaping, researchers are still trying to understand the cause of the illnesses. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports.
SUMMARY: With thousands sickened and 47 dead from a mysterious lung illness linked to vaping, teenage use of electronic cigarettes is still surging. As the health risks grow, pressure is building on President Trump to take action, with particular focus on limiting the flavored tobacco products that appeal to kids. William Brangham reports and talks to Matthew Myers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration issued its toughest crackdown yet on the makers of electronic cigarettes that have become increasingly popular with young people. Manufacturers now have two months to prove they can keep their e-cigarettes out of the hands of minors; it's already illegal for anyone under 18 to buy nicotine products. William Brangham talks with FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb.
SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration will begin regulating e-cigarettes and cigars the same way it regulates cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. About 2.5 million high school students or middle schoolers vaped at least once in the last month; now e-cigarettes can no longer be sold to people under 18. Hari Sreenivasan talks to Mitch Zeller of the FDA for more on the new policy.
HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour): There'll be no more e-cigarette and cigar sales to people under the age of 18. Federal oversight of the growing industry was announced today by the Food and Drug Administration.
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HARI SREENIVASAN: They've been around since 2006, but until now, they were largely un-regulated. E-cigarettes turn nicotine into an inhalable liquid vapor, but without the tobacco in regular cigarettes.
WOMAN: With blue e-cigs there's no tobacco only vapor.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Ads for the products tout benefits, using celebrity endorsements, like this one from actress Jenny McCarthy. In fact, there's no scientific consensus on benefits, or potential harm.
But Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell says the industry will now be regulated, citing its rapid growth among teens.
SYLVIA BURWELL, Secretary of Health and Human Services: Between 2011 and 2015, the percentage of high school students who smoke e-cigarettes has skyrocketed over 900 percent. Meanwhile, hookah usage has risen significantly among young people and cigar smoking continues to be a problem among high schoolers. Together, that means millions of kids are being introduced to nicotine every year, a new generation hooked on a highly addictive chemical.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Manufacturers, many of them small companies, will have to undergo a lengthy federal review in order to stay on the market.
In response, Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, said today, quote, “If the FDA's rule is not changed by Congress or the courts, thousands of small businesses will close in two to three years.”
House Republicans (bough and paid for, my comment) have their own answer, a bill to curb retroactive safety reviews for e-cigarettes and cigars.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it intends for the first time to regulate the ever-growing business of electronic cigarettes. Sales have grown to $3 billion a year. And some public health experts are worried about its rise.
The number of middle and high school students using e-cigarettes doubled between 2011 and 2012. Under the new rules, sales would be banned to anyone under the age of 18. Companies would have to register their products and ingredients with the FDA, but they can continue marketing to adults.
New regulations would also apply to cigars, pipe tobacco, and hookahs or water pipes, for the first time.
There are many questions about the agency’s approach.
Mitch Zeller is the director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. And he joins me now.
