FDA Moves to Regulate E-Cigarettes

By Krista Harju, KFYR-TV

The American Lung Association is calling it an important step forward for public health. The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products issued a long-awaited proposal to regulate electronic cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Many tobacco smokers are making the switch to e-cigarettes. For some it’s about kicking the habit.
“After the first couple weeks, I don’t crave them as much. I still do, but I don’t think that will ever go away,” says smoker Shawn Deanna Barnes.
Some believe the smoking alternative is safer than traditional cigarettes. But the FDA isn’t ready to make that claim.
“They’ve analyzed three different e-cigarette cartridges and all three tested differently,” says Alison Harrington a respiratory therapist and certified tobacco treatment specialist.”With each puff there was one that had 26 micrograms of nicotine, and the other one had 43 micrograms of nicotine. And they were all labeled the same.”
Harrington says other carcinogens that weren’t mentioned on labels have been found, including diethylene glycol which is toxic to humans.
The proposed regulation would require manufacturers to register all products and ingredients with the FDA. And new products could only be marketed after an FDA review.
Barnes says she thinks it’s important to know what she’s ingesting.
“I don’t know if I’ll smoke them after I read whatever else is in them. We’ll see,” says Barnes.
The proposed rules also call for regulation of cigars, pipe tobacco, nicotine gels, water pipe tobacco and hookahs. Right now, only cigarettes and smokeless tobacco fall under the FDA’s regulatory authority.
The proposed regulation would also establish a nationwide minimum age for the legal purchase of tobacco. The age limit is expected to be at least 18, but individual states could choose to set it higher.
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