The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently finalized a new rule that effectively enforces its authority for regulating all tobacco products, including cigars, e-cigarettes, pipe and hookah tobacco.
Thanks to the FDA’s authority and ruling, health professionals will be able to better address various public health concerns about young people using tobacco products.
This is a historic rule, which helps to enforce the bipartisan Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. It also enables the FDA to continue taking proactive steps in protecting people from the health consequences of tobacco.
“As a physician, I’ve seen first-hand the devastating health effects of tobacco use,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said. “At the FDA, we must do our job under the Tobacco Control Act to reduce the harms caused by tobacco. That includes ensuring consumers have the information they need to make informed decisions about tobacco use and making sure that new tobacco products for purchase come under comprehensive FDA review.”
The new regulations seek to restrict tobacco product sales to minors throughout the entire U.S.
“We have more to do to help protect Americans from the dangers of tobacco and nicotine, especially our youth,” Sylvia Burwell, secretary of Health and Human Services, said. “As cigarette smoking among those under 18 has fallen, the use of other nicotine products, including e-cigarettes, has taken a drastic leap. All of this is creating a new generation of Americans who are at risk of addiction. Today’s announcement is an important step in the fight for a tobacco-free generation -- it will help us catch up with changes in the marketplace, put into place rules that protect our kids and give adults information they need to make informed decisions.”
