Last week, the FDA surprised vapers by pushing back one of its toughest regulatory rules by four years. Manufacturers have until 2022 to apply for marketing approval for existing products, though requirements for new products will remain unchanged.
But there’s more bad news coming from India, where the government is considering banning all vaping products following a horrifying report from the Ministry of Health. A city council in New Zealand has also banned vaping in public. Maine’s legislature passed the Tobacco 21 law that the governor vetoed last week.
FDA changes its stance on e-cigarettes
In a surprise announcement Friday morning, the new FDA commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, made a surprising policy change for e-cigarettes . The change is part of a new approach to tobacco control based on harm reduction rather than prohibition. While the main goal of the policy is to reduce nicotine in cigarettes and make them non-addictive, there is some good news for vapers.
Gottlieb readily acknowledged that nicotine products are dangerous, but that depends on the product that accompanies them, and the most dangerous of these is, of course, tobacco. While his attitude toward nicotine use remains negative, he agreed that if people want to use them, there should be safer options. To make those options legal, he called for changes to some of the laws governing them.
The biggest problem facing the vaping industry in the US is the November 2018 deadline to file a PMTA, which would have forced all products that weren’t registered with the FDA by then, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece, to be pulled from the market. Now Gobliebb has extended the deadline to August 2022. He’s also allowing the products to stay on the market while the FDA reviews the application.
While it’s not all good news, the extension only applies to existing products; new products still need to submit a PMTA before they can be sold. There are no changes to the law, which was put in place in February 2007. Finally, Gotliebb also spoke a bit about concerns about flavors appealing to minors, suggesting that the FDA might support a ban on e-liquid flavors in the USA. But either way, the new policy is good for vapers.
India considers ban on e-cigarettes
Indian vapers are facing a ban on e-cigarettes after a shock announcement by the government. Several small state bodies have been pressuring the industry, mostly by banning wholesale sales, but this is the first national action.
The government appears to have been prompted by a health ministry report that found vaping products to be carcinogenic, addictive, and no safer than regular cigarettes. These are bizarre conclusions that go against most of the scientific evidence that has emerged recently, yet the Indian government has accepted them.
They also argue that allowing e-cigarettes would undermine tobacco control efforts. Again, this goes against most of the available evidence. India has a significant problem with Bidis, a locally rolled tobacco that contains highly addictive and toxic chemicals, and tobacco-related diseases are a major public health problem.
The health ministry is considering a complete ban on the import and sale of e-cigarettes. Under Indian law, they cannot include this in the tobacco control act, so the minister is considering using the Drugs and Cosmetics Control Act or the Food Safety and Standards Act to ban them.
A New Zealand city bans vaping in public places
The New Zealand government may have taken a more positive view of vaping, but one city council has decided to go against the tide. Whanganui, a city on the North Island, has decided to ban vaping in public areas .
According to Mayor Hamish McDouall, e-cigarettes are a gateway to tobacco for minors. Ignoring the complete lack of scientific evidence to support this view, McDouall said he knows people who vape and then smoke, so he thinks there must be some connection.
Maine's T21 Bill Approved
Maine’s legislative body has overruled the state government in raising the legal age to buy tobacco and e-cigarette products. Last week, state legislator Paul LePage vetoed the state’s Tobacco 21 law. However, on Wednesday, the legislature voted to pass the bill.
State Senator Paul Davis, who introduced the bill, said his intention was not social control but to reduce the number of minors smoking. Maine has the highest rate of youth smoking in the US, with 11.2% of high school students regularly smoking. Davis believes that those who ignore the 18-year-old age limit would accept it if it were raised to 21.
Source: Fergus Mason - Vapingpost
Translated by: The Vape Club
