November 28, 2018 – e-cig Restrictions

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Anchor lead: The FDA has moved to regulate various aspects of the e-cigarette market, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Flavored e-cigarettes will now be behind the counter, so to speak, with an eye toward reducing access to minors. That’s per a recent FDA proposal aimed to curb the meteoric rise in e-cigarette use in high schoolers. Michael Blaha, a preventive cardiologist at Johns Hopkins, applauds the action.

Blaha: I’m in strong support of what the FDA is doing there, because there’s no doubt we’re having an epidemic of e-cigarette use amongst young people. I’m very scared of what this could cause in terms of nicotine addiction or future gateway to other use. And I think regulating flavorings is absolutely the first place to start. The FDA is also cracking down on companies like Juul Laboratories for their direct promotion of these to minors. And I think this is exactly what needs to happen and hopefully we’ll see a reduction in e-cigarette use in minors in the next couple of years.  :29

Blaha says there is some evidence that e-cigarettes are useful in helping smokers of combustible cigarettes to quit, but they are also a primary introduction to nicotine addiction for others. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.