Over the past two years, prominent anti-tobacco groups like the American Cancer Society and American Lung Association have worked to stop state-level bills to ban the sale of vapor products and electronic cigarettes to minors. The activist groups argue that unless vapor products are subject to tobacco-style regulations like usage bans and taxes, it is better for vapor products to continue to be available to youth. This is an absurd argument that has thankfully been rejected by many state legislatures.
In the piece, FOX’s Jonathan Serrie reports on how some states have yet to ban e-cigarette sales to minors. Serrie also reports on the deeming regulation and how members of Congress are standing up to the FDA:
In November, House Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich. sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell. In it, they expressed concerns about a proposed FDA rule requiring new tobacco products to undergo premarket approval — a potentially costly and lengthy process.
“Specifically, we have concerns that the proposed rule’s February 15, 2007 grandfather date for newly deemed tobacco products will impede innovation and impose unnecessary regulatory burdens on both the FDA and regulated industries,” the House Republicans wrote.
The letter also points out that most “e-vapor” products didn’t exist prior to the proposed 2007 cutoff.
The report continues:
A 2007 cutoff date would subject the vast majority of e-cigarette products to premarket review, according to Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, an industry advocacy group.
“As proposed, the FDA’s regulation would decimate nearly every single small and medium-sized business in this market,” Conley said. “Thousands of businesses would close overnight. And nearly the entire e-cigarette market would become either big tobacco or firms that are backed heavily by Wall Street money.”
Conley said he supports laws banning e-cigarette sales to minors and requiring childproof caps on liquid nicotine. But he insists the electronic devices provide a safer alternative for adults who want to quit smoking.
Continue reading at FOX News or watch the video of the report.
The report was also syndicated to several local FOX affiliates. Watch it below:
