Public health advocates say that instead of helping adults quit smoking, e-cigarettes — particularly products with fruity flavors — have triggered a new epidemic of younger adults hooked on nicotine. The CDC reports that 57.6% of Blacks rechargeable/refillable types of e-cigarettes. This has caused the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to request that three small e-cigarette makers stop selling their flavored products.
The orders issued Thursday to JD Nova Group LLC, Great American Vapes and VaporSalon require them to remove 55,000 existing or planned flavored products from the market or risk enforcement, the Washington Post reports.
In the FDA’s first marketing denials for e-cigarettes, the agency says the three companies’ applications didn’t provide “sufficient evidence” that any possible public health benefits of their products for adult smokers outweigh the “threat posed by the well-documented, alarming levels of youth use” of flavored vaping products.
The FDA specifically notes flavors such as Apple Crumble, Dr. Cola and Cinnamon Toast Cereal sold by the companies, the Post reports.
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“We know that flavored tobacco products are very appealing to young people, therefore assessing the impact of potential or actual youth use is a critical factor in our decision-making about which products may be marketed,” FDA acting commissioner Janet Woodcock says in a statement.
“We stand firmly with the science that *no* flavored tobacco products are appropriate for the protection of public health, and all should be removed,” the American Lung Association wrote on Twitter.
The FDA is expected to make decisions on about 2 million vaping and other non-cigarette tobacco products by Sept. 9.
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Protecting Teens from e-cigarettes
If you are a parent to a teenager, it is best to create a dialogue before your child even considers trying e-cigarettes. The following are helpful solutions:
