FDA to Regulate E-Cigarettes Just Like Tobacco
FDA to Regulate E-Cigarettes Just Like Tobacco
April 27, 2011 -- The FDA has decided to oversee electronic cigarettes the same way it does tobacco products. The agency will not regulate the vapor-producing devices under the stricter federal rules that apply to medical products.
The FDA says it decided not to appeal a federal appeals court ruling asserting that e-cigarettes could be regulated as tobacco products and “are not drugs or devices” unless specifically marketed for therapeutic purposes, such as purporting to help people quit smoking.
The decision not to appeal was announced in a letter to the public and stakeholders from Lawrence R. Deyton, MD, MSPH, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, and Janet Woodcock, MD, director of the agency’s Drug Evaluation and Research.
E-cigarettes are marketed as cigarette substitutes but with claims to be safer than tobacco cigarettes.
The electronic devices are powered by a battery, and a liquid nicotine mixture derived from tobacco is converted into a vapor that can be inhaled by a user.
Quitting Tobacco Slideshow: Help for the First Hard Days
The FDA says it decided not to appeal a federal appeals court ruling asserting that e-cigarettes could be regulated as tobacco products and “are not drugs or devices” unless specifically marketed for therapeutic purposes, such as purporting to help people quit smoking.
The decision not to appeal was announced in a letter to the public and stakeholders from Lawrence R. Deyton, MD, MSPH, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, and Janet Woodcock, MD, director of the agency’s Drug Evaluation and Research.
E-cigarettes are marketed as cigarette substitutes but with claims to be safer than tobacco cigarettes.
The electronic devices are powered by a battery, and a liquid nicotine mixture derived from tobacco is converted into a vapor that can be inhaled by a user.
Quitting Tobacco Slideshow: Help for the First Hard Days
Source...