The US Food and Drug Administration has been granted the banning of e-cigarettes and all vape-related products to underaged people.
FDA’s ongoing battle against the vape industry has reached its climax, as the respective ruling was finalized today, classifying e-cigarettes, vape pens, and the rest electronic devices under the wider “tobacco product” section. Retailers are prohibited from selling any product filed under the particular segment to the underaged.
Furthermore, the new law will be implemented within the next 90 days and subjects e-cigs to the rules outlined in the Tobacco Control Act of 2009, which consequently obliges retailers to ask and verify the customer’s photo ID before selling him such a product.
Manufacturers whose products were rolled out to the market after February 15th, 2007, are also required to submit new applications in order for the agency to determine if they meet all the legislated health measurements. Companies will be allowed to sell their products for two years while preparing the applications, and an additional one during the application’s review from the FDA.
The vape industry products have managed to become a major hit amongst teens, since ordinary cigars have been banned for decades now, while the business has turned phenomenally lucrative during the last few years. CDC’s latest research suggests that a whopping 3 million teens used e-cigs last year, making the state of Hawaii to pass a law that raises the minimum smoking age to 21.
CDC director Tom Frieden commented on e-cigars’ consistent growth in a statement last year,
E-cigarettes are now the most commonly used tobacco product among youth, and use continues to climb.
Since it is a fact that a substantial proportion of e-cig consumers belong to the teen demographic, the industry’s sales performance is expected to suffer a severe blow in the coming months.
Tony Abboud, national legislative director for the Vapor Technology Association mentioned in a statement,
Today’s action by the FDA will do nothing to improve our nations’ public health objectives, to the contrary, today’s action will yank responsibly manufactured vapor products from the hands of adult smokers and replace them with the tobacco cigarettes they had been trying to give up.
Source: US Food and Drug Administration
