The Vaping Industry As We Know It May Soon Disappear

For the last 15 years, there’s been a caveat tacked on to any discussion of e-cigarettes’ public health impact. Though millions of people in the U.S. use them regularly, the devices have never been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That could change next week, as the multi-billion-dollar vaping industry nears its judgement day. The FDA is supposed to decide by Sept. 9 whether and how e-cigarette companies—including market-leader Juul Labs—may keep selling their products in the U.S. The long-awaited decisions promise to spark controversy no matter which way they go. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Already, anti-vaping advocates and public-health groups have urged the FDA to reject Juul’s bid for agency authorization, citing its popularity among teenagers. “Juul fueled the youth e-cigarette epidemic and is still the #1 brand among youth,” the anti-smoking group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids tweeted on Aug. 31. “@FDATobacco must take them off the market—and the same goes for other flavored, high nicotine e-cigarettes.” On the other hand, vaping industry representatives and pro-vaping researchers warn that adult smokers may go back to deadly traditional tobacco cigarettes if the FDA clears the market of popular e-cigarettes. “To date, the singular focus of U.S. policies on decreasing youth vaping may well have reduced vaping’s potential contribution to reducing adult smo...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news