While the press was understandably preoccupied with the White House commandeering private businesses to enforce a COVID vaccine mandate on September 9, it gave little attention to the Food and Drug Administration’s strike against an effective form of tobacco harm reduction on the same day.
The FDA was under a court order to review 6.5 million applications from over 500 companies to market nicotine‐containing e‐cigarettes and rejected 90 percent of them, while it delayed deciding on applications from Juul, which commands an overwhelming share of the vaping market. One can be forgiven for having a cynical view of the delay.
Ironically, a spokesperson for the American Lung Association, which should be promoting nicotine‐based vaping products as a proven way to help adults quit smoking tobacco products, was “deeply disappointed” that the decision about Juul’s fate was delayed. The association is concerned about what it sees as an “epidemic” of vaping among youth. Yet it is against the law to sell vaping products to people under age 18, and one would think the American Lung Association would support tobacco harm reduction for adults.
Jeffrey A. Singer – Cato.org – 2021-09-13.
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