New restrictions introduced by FDA on flavored e-cigarette sales to teenagers
By Staff Reporter | Mar 14, 2019 08:29 AM EDT
The FDA announced a proposal Wednesday for new restrictions on flavored e-cigarette sales in an effort to stop a recent rise in youth vaping.
In a statement announcing the new regulations, FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb expressed his hopes that the FDA's efforts will allay the "epidemic-level rise in youth e-cigarette use" and put the US back on track to overcoming "one of the most pernicious public health challenges of our times-the death and disease caused by cigarette smoking." Gottlieb noted that the surge in e-cigarette use threatens US progress toward reducing nicotine dependence, citing recent CDC data that more than 3.6 million middle and high school students reported e-cigarette use in 2018, up from 2.1 million in 2017. According to Gottlieb, "this is particularly troubling given that research shows that kids using e-cigarettes are more likely to take up combustible cigarettes."