OPINION: What’s behind FDA rules on e-cigarettes
With lofty ambition, the U.S. Surgeon General set a national goal this past January: Protect all “future generations” of Americans from taking up smoking of any kind. On Thursday, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took a big step toward that aim.
The agency proposed several rules on electronic cigarettes, notably one to restrict access of the battery-powered, nicotine-infused vapor devices to minors. Makers of e-cigarettes would also need to provide health warnings on their products and seek agency approval for the ingredients.
The FDA has strong political winds at its back as it tries to control the young and aggressive e-cig industry. Over the past half century, the United States has made tremendous progress in snuffing out a desire among Americans to pick up the habit of ingesting nicotine. The percentage of people who smoke has been cut in half. And among those who do smoke (18 percent), the number of cigarettes consumed per capita has fallen 72 percent.