WSJ: FDA Mulls Banning Online Sales Of E-Cigarettes

(RTTNews) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is mulling a ban on online sales of electronic cigarettes in order to avoid sales to minors, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday. The move is being considered due to the increasing popularity of the devices that use nicotine-vaporizing technology and are sold online and in many shopping malls.

Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, are battery-operated products designed to deliver nicotine, flavor and other chemicals. They turn nicotine, which is highly addictive, and other chemicals into a vapor, instead of smoke, that is inhaled by the user. The devices are designed to look like and to be used in the same manner as conventional cigarettes.

The popularity of e-cigarettes have soared in recent times as tobacco products are highly regulated and heavily taxed. Further, cigarette smoking has been forbidden in public places. The popularity has seen three of the largest tobacco companies in the U.S., Altria Group, Inc. (MO), Reynolds American, Inc. (RAI), and Lorillard, Inc. (LO), introducing their brand of e-cigarettes.

The FDA is considering the action to ban online sales of electronic cigarettes in order to regulate the product as the safety and efficacy of e-cigarettes have not been fully studied, and consumers of e-cigarette products currently have no way of knowing its health impact.

A ban will keep the product away from the hands of minors with the FDA also looking at whether the minimum legal age for buying e-cigarette's should be 18 or 19 years. The New York city council is said to be already considering bills that would raise the city's legal age for buying tobacco products and e-cigarette's to 21 years from the current 18 years.

According to the WSJ report, analysts estimate e-cigarette sales in the U.S. will reach $1 billion in 2013, and is predicted by some to hit $10 billion in sales over the next five years.

There are currently no studies on whether e-cigarettes are safe for their intended use, how much nicotine or other potentially harmful chemicals are being inhaled during use, and if there are any benefits associated with using these products.

Additionally, it is not known if e-cigarettes may lead young people to try other tobacco products, including conventional cigarettes, which are known to cause disease and lead to premature death.

The FDA is said to have been discussing the issues with e-cigarette makers this week to hear their views on its proposed regulations for the industry. The FDA is reportedly expected to formally publish its proposals in October.

The FDA's tobacco compliance and enforcement program ensures that industry and retailers follow existing laws designed to reduce the health burden of tobacco use on the American public and protect America's youth. To ensure compliance with the law, FDA works to prevent youth access to tobacco products and the influence of marketing by reviewing print and online advertising, monitoring promotional activities, and inspecting tobacco retail establishments.

In September 2010, FDA issued a number of warning letters to electronic cigarette distributors for various violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, including "violations of good manufacturing practices, making unsubstantiated drug claims, and using the devices as delivery mechanisms for active pharmaceutical ingredients."

FDA has also slammed the claims of e-cigarette manufacturers that the products help users quit smoking cigarettes, a claim without FDA review of relevant evidence.

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 (Tobacco Control Act), which amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, was enacted on June 22, 2009, and it provides the FDA with authority to regulate "tobacco products." The FDA Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) currently regulates cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, and smokeless tobacco. However, e-cigarette's that are marketed for therapeutic purposes are currently regulated by the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER).