Despite the Trump administration’s deregulatory rhetoric, the Food and Drug Administration has been on a crusade against e-cigarettes over the past year. Last October, the agency sent a letter to 21 manufacturers threatening to pull new flavors off the market to curb underage vaping. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb doubled down on this tough talk last month, warning that e-cigarette manufacturers will face an “existential threat” from government action lest youth vaping rates continue to rise.
In plain English, Uncle Sam has threatened to ban vaping outright. This is terrible news for cigarette smokers looking to quit, as a recent gold standard study has shown e-cigarettes to be more effective than traditional smoking-cessation products. For the sake of public health, the FDA should roll back its assault on this new technology.
On Jan. 30, the New England Journal of Medicine published a British study funded by the National Institute for Health and Cancer Research U.K. that found vaping to be more effective at helping smokers quit than nicotine patches and gum. The trial randomly assigned nearly 900 smokers to use either e-cigarettes or a traditional smoking cessation. About 18 percent of the group assigned to vape successfully quit after one year, whereas only 10 percent of the group assigned to patches, gum, inhalers, or oral nicotine.
This study has the potential to shed a more positive light on vaping in policymakers’ eyes, as not many gold standard studies have been conducted on the subject previously. Vox’s Julia Belluz explains:
Together, these studies were promising, but not enough evidence from which to draw clear conclusions. Doctors have consequently continued to wonder how truly helpful e-cigarettes are.
There’s no doubt that underage vaping is a cause to be concerned about, but the FDA should not throw the baby out with the bathwater, metaphorically speaking. It’s true that e-cigarettes can be used undesirably to introduce young people to smoking. However, it can also be desirably used to help adults quit smoking. Draconian regulations, or, worse, an all-out ban, would make life even harder for Americans taking self-responsibility to improve their health and extend their life.
Casey Given (@CaseyJGiven) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is the executive director of Young Voices.
