This is the first time federal authorities have tried to encourage Americans to quit smoking by directly targeting the addictive substance.
To date, anti-smoking measures have consisted of warnings about the dangers of smoking on cigarette packs, taxes and youth campaigns.
The FDA has announced that it is postponing for several years the entry into force of regulations for cigars and electronic cigarettes and imposing the obligation of manufacturers of such cigarettes to obtain its approval for the marketing of products.
Manufacturers of cigars, pipes and hookahs will have to comply with the new rules of 2021, and in the case of electronic cigarettes in 2022.
“Most deaths and illnesses from tobacco result from cigarette addiction, the only legally consumable product that kills half of those who use it for a long time,” said FDA Administrator Scott Gottlieb.
According to him, the measures revealed on Friday are part of a broader plan aimed at discouraging people from smoking conventional cigarettes, in favor of products that contain nicotine, but are less harmful, such as electronic cigarettes.
For Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an influential NGO in the fight against youth tobacco, this FDA proposal “represents a bold and comprehensive approach with the potential to accelerate progress in reducing smoking and mortality.”
However, he fears that the postponement of a regulation on cigars and electronic cigarettes will allow “products aimed at attracting young people, such as fruit flavors (…) to remain on the market with poor supervision by health authorities.”
The FDA will examine the possibility of regulating these “flavors”, also used in cigars, and even consider banning menthol in tobacco products.
The tobacco industry in YOUR is facing a steady decline in the number of smokers, reaching an unprecedented level – only 15% of adults smoke.
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