FDA Targets Mint-, Fruit-Flavored E-Cigarettes to Protect Young Vapers

woman vaping
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Yesterday (Jan. 2), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a new policy to crack down on companies that sell mint- and fruit-flavored electronic cigarettes, popular products among children and teens. 

The policy aims to quell the widespread use of e-cigarettes among U.S. minors, because this use places millions of young people at risk of nicotine addiction, abnormal brain development and the use of conventional cigarettes later in life, according to a statement from the agency. For now, the crackdown will not affect the sale of tobacco- or menthol-flavored products, as research suggests that young users are far more attracted to fruit and mint flavors. 

"Our action today seeks to strike the right public health balance by maintaining e-cigarettes as a potential off-ramp for adults using combustible tobacco while ensuring [that] these products don't provide an on-ramp to nicotine addiction for our youth," Alex Azar, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said in the FDA statement.

Related: Does Vaping Have Any Benefits?

The FDA announcement follows an outbreak of vaping-related illness connected to contaminated e-cigarette products. But even if minors get their hands on untainted e-cigarette products, the devices still pose significant risks to their health, the FDA warned. The agency has called vaping among minors an "epidemic," as more than 5 million middle and high school students use e-cigarettes nationwide, according to the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Of these, 1.6 million minors report using e-cigarettes at least 20 days out of every month while about 1 million say they use e-cigarettes daily. 

"We will not stand idly by as this crisis among America's youth grows and evolves, and we will continue monitoring the situation and take further actions as necessary," Azar said. 

The new FDA policy does not ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. Instead, the agency will now prioritize the removal of "illegally marketed" fruit- and mint-flavored products from the market. To be deemed "legal," products that fall under the Tobacco Control Act, including e-cigarettes and other "electronic nicotine delivery systems," must undergo an FDA review. 

This science-based evaluation determines whether the product poses unacceptable risks to public health and weighs whether e-cigarettes make it more likely that people who do not use tobacco products will start using them. Although the act dictates that all e-cigarettes must undergo this review, the agency has delayed enforcing the policy for several years. To date, no existing e-cigarette products have undergone the approval process, and therefore, no product is considered "legally marketed" by the FDA. 

The agency could subject any e-cigarette product to enforcement of the act at any time. The new policy simply states that mint- and fruit-flavored e-cigarettes will be the first to face scrutiny.

Related: E-Cigarettes: What Vaping Does to Your Body

The FDA also plans to target products for which the "manufacturer has failed to take … adequate measures to prevent minors' access" through the use of age-verification technology and other sales restrictions. The agency will focus on cartridge-based e-cigarettes, as minors commonly use these products, according to the 2019 Monitoring the Future survey

Starting May 12, 2020, the FDA will take action against all manufacturers who continue to sell e-cigarettes without first submitting the required premarket application. This action will affect all kinds of e-cigarettes, flavored or otherwise. 

"While we expect that responsible members of industry will comply with premarket requirements, we're ready to take action against any unauthorized e-cigarette products as outlined in our priorities," FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in the FDA statement. "We'll also closely monitor the use rates of all e-cigarette products and take additional steps to address youth use as necessary." 

Originally published on Live Science. 

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Nicoletta Lanese
Channel Editor, Health

Nicoletta Lanese is the health channel editor at Live Science and was previously a news editor and staff writer at the site. She holds a graduate certificate in science communication from UC Santa Cruz and degrees in neuroscience and dance from the University of Florida. Her work has appeared in The Scientist, Science News, the Mercury News, Mongabay and Stanford Medicine Magazine, among other outlets. Based in NYC, she also remains heavily involved in dance and performs in local choreographers' work.

  • Truthseeker007
    But they don't seem to care about all the toxins in candy that kids eat. I am sure this isn't about the kids but big tobacco doing a lot of lobbying. They are definitely losing money on vapes. Who wants to pay 8 bucks for a pack of cigs?

    I find it funny that the FDA all of a sudden care about the kids and health. :ROFLMAO:
    Reply
  • DianeMP
    I have news from my perspective as a former smoker who took many years to finally quit for good: If thoroughly addicted, a smoker will smoke, no matter how limited the flavor selection. This applies to smoking places, too. No smoking within 10 feet/25feet/100 feet? No problem! Have smokes, will travel. The good news is that kids, "beginner-smokers" take a couple of years to become teeth-gnashingly addicted to any substance, making the act of quitting a bit easier with LOTS of support and education.

    What's working against recovery especially now is that kids feel in their bones the horror of environmental collapse and threat of mass extinction - including their own. What's to be hopeful for these days, eh grownups?
    Reply
  • Truthseeker007
    DianeMP said:
    I have news from my perspective as a former smoker who took many years to finally quit for good: If thoroughly addicted, a smoker will smoke, no matter how limited the flavor selection. This applies to smoking places, too. No smoking within 10 feet/25feet/100 feet? No problem! Have smokes, will travel. The good news is that kids, "beginner-smokers" take a couple of years to become teeth-gnashingly addicted to any substance, making the act of quitting a bit easier with LOTS of support and education.

    What's working against recovery especially now is that kids feel in their bones the horror of environmental collapse and threat of mass extinction - including their own. What's to be hopeful for these days, eh grownups?

    And I don't even think it is the flavored ones that the kids are mostly using. It is the marijuana vaps. So it is kind of useless to stop the flavored ones because kids are mostly doing the marijuana flavor anyway. :D I think we should stop all funding to the FDA and Drug Administration because they are dumber than bricks.lol!

    Kids want to do the illegal things. So now it will make it even more worth while getting flavored vaps maybe made by college students in a lab and sold to middleschoolers and highschoolers. And they will make a fortune now since it will be illegal to smoke a cherry tasting vape.lol.
    Reply