A crackdown by the Trump administration led to 17 companies halting the sale of nicotine-containing e-liquids used in e-cigarettes that had kid-friendly flavors resembling candy and cookies, the administration announced Thursday.
The Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission warned the companies back in May about marketing the liquids with names resembling child-friendly food products. Some examples include one e-liquid named after a juice box and another called “Candy King.” The actions come after some lawmakers chided the FDA for not doing enough to curb e-cigarette use among minors, which has exploded in recent years.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Thursday that the May warnings bore fruit as the 17 manufacturers, distributors and retailers agreed to halt the selling of the e-liquids. The liquid is put into an e-cigarette device, which heats the liquid up into a vapor to be inhaled.
“When companies market these products using imagery that misleads a child into thinking they’re things they’ve consumed before, like a juice box or candy, that can create an imminent risk of harm to a child who may confuse the product for something safe and familiar,” Gottlieb said in a statement.
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Federal lawmakers have been concerned about the proliferation of e-cigarette use among minors.
“I am concerned that FDA’s silence on e-cigarettes could open the door to the next public health emergency,” Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., told Gottlieb during an appropriations hearing in April.
More than two million middle and high school students used e-cigarettes and similar devices in 2016, according to the National Youth tobacco Survey. There were 1.4 million students who used cigarettes and 1.3 million used cigars, the survey released last year said.
The availability of different flavors was one of the top reasons children and teens turned to e-cigarette use, the survey found.
The May warnings on e-cigarette liquids were part of a broader crackdown from the FDA on e-cigarette use.
In April, the agency cited 40 retailers for selling JUUL brand e-cigarettes to minors, which is illegal under federal law. JUUL e-cigarettes are popular among teens because they do not look like a regular cigarette and can fool parents and teachers.
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