Politicians, bureaucrats determined to cripple lifesaving alternative to smoking – Press Telegram

E-cigarettes, which supply nicotine without tobacco or burning, are the most important alternative to smoking to date and can reduce the premature death of millions in the United States alone. Still, bureaucrats and politicians seem determined to deny that historic opportunity through regulations and taxes that could cripple the industry.

When the deadline set by the court for “pre-marketing” approval of vaping products came in and out on September 9, the Food and Drug Administration received millions of applications but did not approve them. As a result, authorities say that all vapor-breathing devices and nicotine solutions sold in the United States are “illegally sold” and “subject to enforcement action at the FDA’s discretion.”

Seven years after the FDA officially declared its intention to regulate “electronic nicotine delivery systems” as “tobacco products,” the industry was facing legal issues, with FDA enforcement discretion and limited resources. Exists only for. The FDA promises regulatory flexibility, but it persists the situation where manufacturers do not know whether to continue their business next week, next month, or next year.

The FDA has rejected millions of applications for non-tobacco flavored nicotine solutions, a product that former smokers overwhelmingly prefer. These flavors also appeal to teens, so the benefits of helping manufacturers quit smoking outweigh the risks of encouraging underage e-cigarettes to be “robust,” “reliable,” and “product.” Authorities say it will only be approved if it presents “unique” evidence. ..

“Evidence of the benefits such products bring to adult smokers is likely to be in the form of randomized controlled trials or longitudinal cohort studies,” the FDA said, but what does that mean? No one knows. Such studies go beyond the means of all companies except large companies, and the FDA states that approval of their products is “appropriate for public health protection, taking into account the risks and benefits to the public.” You may have a hard time persuading. as a whole. “

Under its highly subjective standards required by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009, manufacturers simply indicate that their products are far less dangerous than traditional cigarettes. Not enough. Non-cigarette flavors can also be used because the FDA may conclude that the risk of underage consumption outweighs the welfare of smokers interested in switching to potentially life-saving e-cigarettes. It is not enough to show that it is very popular among ex-smokers.

Survey data show that the majority of teenagers who smoke regularly are current or former smokers. This means that the FDA’s fear that e-cigarettes are causing the “epidemic” of adolescent nicotine addiction is exaggerated. Otherwise, vaporization may be the “gateway” to smoking among teenagers who have never tried nicotine. If anything, the availability of e-cigarettes is accelerating the decline in adolescent smoking, as recent trends suggest.

The stupidity of obsession with preventing underage vaporization was evident in San Francisco, where the ban on flavored e-cigarettes seemed to encourage teenagers and young adults to smoke. That careful example does not discourage other jurisdictions from considering the same counterproductive policies.

House Democrats have proposed excise taxes that double or triple the price of electronic liquids if strict federal and local regulations are not sufficient to prevent smokers from quitting smoking. “This tax doesn’t just kill my business,” the Georgia Ark shop owner told my Reason colleague Christian Britschgi.