E-cigarettes introduced after Aug. 8, 2016, are supposed to first undergo FDA review in order to be marketed. FDA sent letters on Friday to 21 e-cigarette manufacturers, including Big Tobacco companies British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands and Japan Tobacco, requesting information to investigate whether they illegally introduced more than 40 new devices and nicotine liquids to the market. New product features, formulations or flavors that were launched after Aug. 8, 2016, may be violating the FDA’s policy.
Fact is that over the past year, the number of high school students who have used e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days has skyrocketed by about 75 percent, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual National Youth Tobacco Survey. FDA requested five brands to submit plans within 60 days detailing how they will prevent teens from using their products. One company, HelloCig Electronic Technology , was warned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for selling e-liquids that contain prescription drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction, such tadalafil and or sildenafil. Possible actions of the FDA could target pulling flavored e-cigarettes from the market. With an estimated 480,000 deaths due to smoking related causes each year in the U.S., FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb is developing a plan to change regulation over traditional cigarettes and new alternatives to smoking.
