The E-Cigarette Crackdown Is Here – FDA’s New Decision
Recently, the FDA has begun cracking down on e-cigarettes, calling them an epidemic that particularly is excessively being used by teenagers – as a result, the FDA is pushing manufacturers to come up with solutions. Despite their previous view-points on the subject, the Food and Drug Administration in a shocking new turn stated that especially among young teens, the spreading of e-cigarettes is dangerous and unprecedented.
The FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb stated that publically that he fully understood the power of the word “epidemic” that he chose to use for this situation, citing that the danger that even these e-cigarettes pose to teenagers is nothing short of a spreading disease. He had to state that despite the safer narrative that many manufacturers paint when marketing e-cigarettes, the threat of addiction is still quite evident and present.
“E-cigs have become an almost ubiquitous — and dangerous — trend among teens. The disturbing and accelerating trajectory of use we’re seeing in youth, and the resulting path to addiction, must end.” Scott Gottlieb stated.
In conjunction with this statement, the FDA handed out warning letters to many major manufacturers of e-cigarettes, stating that they need to more actively prevent the spreading of these products to young teenagers. Experts state that tobacco is especially harmful to growing teenagers, and even in small doses can tamper with the mind’s development process. As a result of this, even when consumed through the supposedly safer e-cigarettes, there is a high chance of addiction which is surely a dangerous trend.
Certain parties believe that the FDA had done too little, too late when it comes to acting upon this matter. The believe that widespread usage of e-cigarettes has already become a common trend among growing teenagers, and what’s worse is that many have already become accustomed and used to the idea. Additionally, some have stated that simply sending out warning letters and expected manufacturers to respond quickly enough is not as assertive of an action that is needed for a situation of this gravity.
Some state that the FDA was well within its power to make these statements over two years ago, but refused to act at the time, which only led to the issue rising in magnitude. “The Lung Association has been urging the Food and Drug Administration to take meaningful action for quite a while now,” Sward said. “Our organization with our partners filed a lawsuit against the FDA for what we believe was an arbitrary and capricious delay in implementing the deeming rule, which would have required every product to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.”
Whether or not this results in a lowered amount of e-cigarettes in the hands of young kids still remains to be seen, but many do agree that it is a step in the right direction, albeit one that was a bit late. Many hope that the warnings received are received well by the manufactures who take all the steps possible to make sure that the usage of such products is limited when it comes to teenagers.
