Don’t expect a change in course, despite the long-awaited admission.
Is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) changing its tune on electronic cigarettes?
In May, Brian King was appointed head of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. King is not known for championing e-cigarettes or reduced-risk alternatives to cigarettes. But after a few months on the job, he’s out on the media and conference circuit giving a clearer idea of how he envisions the future of nicotine regulation.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Monday, King was asked about surveys showing most people think e-cigarettes are just as dangerous as traditional cigarettes and whether that was a problem. “I’m fully aware of the misperceptions that are out there and aren’t consistent with the known science,” King replied. “We do know that e-cigarettes — as a general class — have markedly less risk than a combustible cigarette product.” King went on to say that communication campaigns must use science and evidence and be careful to avoid unintended consequences.
Earlier this year, Clive Bates, a tobacco harm reduction advocate and former chief of the anti-smoking charity Action on Smoking and Health, called the public misperceptions of vaping an “American crime scene.” Bates was referencing the 2020 Health Information National Trends Survey showing just 2.6 percent of Americans accurately believed e-cigarettes were “much less harmful than combustible cigarettes.”
Guy Bentley – Reason – 2022-09-29.
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