This past Sunday, April 24, was the second anniversary of a proposal from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to gain authority to regulate all of the tobacco products in the U.S., but there has been a continued delay in finalizing the rule.
The FDA wants to gain the authority to regulate cigars, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and other tobacco products. Unfortunately, the administration has not finalized the first step in giving the FDA this authority.
“Until the FDA takes the necessary regulatory steps, the tobacco industry will continue to engage in deceptive practices to make unregulated tobacco products attractive and accessible to young consumers,” Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), said. “The repercussions of these delays are apparent as a recently released youth survey shows 4.7 million middle and high school students used tobacco products in 2015. Additionally, e-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among teens.”
The delay appears to be one in a series of other ongoing delays concerning tobacco in the U.S.
“The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, passed in 2009, granted the FDA authority to assert regulatory jurisdiction over all tobacco products,” Hansen said. “And, after an extraordinary seven years has elapsed, no final regulatory action has been taken by the administration to deal with these unregulated products.”
These delays place the health of many people -- including young children -- at risk.
“There are more than 45 million tobacco users in the U.S. and tobacco use remains the largest preventable cause of death in this country,” Hansen said. “We urge the FDA to use its authority and take immediate action to regulate all tobacco products. It’s time to take this long overdue step to protect public health.”
