Agencies repspond to efforts on removing e-cigarettes from the market
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids applaud Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey’s call for the Food and Drug Administration to exert its authority and immediately remove e-cigarettes from the market.
FDA officials have been quoted numerous times in many publications during the past few weeks saying that e-cigarettes are “new drugs,” which require prior approval from the FDA before they are allowed to be sold. Without this approval, e-cigarettes are illegal to market or sell. Despite these statements, no action has been taken to remove e-cigarettes from the market.
Currently, e-cigarettes are being sold in 62 kiosks at malls across the United States, with plans to expand to another 55. E-cigarettes are also being marketed towards young people, who can purchase them in fruit flavors and online, without having to verify their ages.
Makers and retailers of these products have been making unproven health claims about their products, claiming that they are safer than normal cigarettes and asserting that they can help people to quit smoking. Absent scientific evidence, these claims are in blatant violation of FDA rules.
According to a news release from the American Lung Association, no studies have been done on e-cigarettes to date regarding their health effects or their effectiveness as cessation aids. Like the “light” and “low tar” cigarettes that tobacco companies claimed were healthier for consumers, there is no evidence to back up the claims made by e-cigarette makers. In September of 2008, the World Health Organization stated that they have “no evidence to confirm the product’s safety or efficacy.”
While the FDA currently does not have jurisdiction over tobacco products, it does have jurisdiction over other products that contain nicotine including e-cigarettes, which have been marketed as delivering nicotine without tobacco.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
“Without this approval, e-cigarettes are illegal to market or sell. Despite these statements, no action has been taken to remove e-cigarettes from the market.“
This is false. E-cigarettes are not “new drugs”. Nicotine is not a “new drug”. It’s been around for hundreds of years and there is not a ban on it in any form in the United States and a number of products are sold over the counter. There is also a nicotine inhaler available that does the exact same thing an e-cigarette does. If the FDA was really concerned about the health of the people, they would be pushing to outlaw tobacco cigarettes, NOT a cleaner alternative. E-cigarettes are safer than tobacco cigarettes by default, simply because a tobacco cigarette emits over 4,000 known chemicals into the air when it is burned and at least 60 of these are known to cause cancer. E-cigarette formulas contain less than 20 chemicals on average and NONE are known carcinogens. But, you imply they’re not safer than real cigarettes? This is insanity.
Even the Mayo Clinic states that even though nicotine is what keeps a smoker hooked, it is NOT responsible for the majority of health problems associated with cigarettes.
“E-cigarettes are also being marketed towards young people, who can purchase them in fruit flavors and online, without having to verify their ages.“
Another outright LIE. By “young people”, you’re implying “minors”. The simple fact that e-cigarettes are marketed with a number of flavors does NOT mean that they are being marketed towards young people. Tobacco comes in a number of flavors at your local tobacco shop and so do cocktails at your local bar. Most e-cigarette online vendors and manufacturers have health warnings on the front of the site and on product pages stating that the products are not intended for minors and neither are they intended for those with heart problems or pregnant women. This makes your allegations FALSE and it makes YOU a liar.
Not only that, but there is no e-cigarette company that is actively marketing their product toward minors. I’d like to see just where you got the information that they are, because I’ve yet to see an ad that shows an 8 year old with one.
On top of that, there are a number of smoking cessation products on the market that are neither endorsed nor approved by the FDA and the FDA isn’t doing anything to remove those products from the market. Ever heard of “Final Smoke”? I see commercials for that product on television every single night and not a word from the FDA about it being an “unapproved smoking cessation device”. The reason the media and the FDA is cracking down so hard on e-cigarettes is that they work.
“In September of 2008, the World Health Organization stated that they have “no evidence to confirm the product’s safety or efficacy.”
No evidence? Try this on for size: http://www.healthnz.co.nz/RuyanCartridgeReport30-Oct-08.pdf
I’d like to know where the evidence is that they aren’t safe. Go look around some e-cigarette forums and hear the success stories. Go to the comments section on almost ANY news article about e-cigarettes and hear the success stories. My boyfriend beat a smoking habit of 26 years within a WEEK and is lowering his nicotine intake on his next order of cartridges. He breathes better than he did before and is able to be more active and not only that, but the amount of time I see him with his “e-cigarette” in his hand is substantially less than I saw him with a real cigarette in his hand a month ago simply because he can set it down after a puff or two and when he goes back to work, he forgets it’s there. He’s not committed to smoking a whole cigarette every time he wants a hit. He’s able to take a hit and put it down at will. No ash tray, no risk of setting anything on fire, and no commitment because there’s no chance of “wasting” a cartridge.
Your form of “journalism” is laughable, at best. Do some actual research before you start slamming something that has already helped so many people. You’re just another “journalist” doing exactly what she’s told: slam this, pimp that, squash this. And you’re not very good at it.
Advertisement