Health officials say they want more federal action on Big Tobacco and the e-cigarette industry. Above, e-cigarettes for sale at a Sacramento store.
“We were encouraged by some of the statements and actions of the [outgoing] FDA commissioner,” said Bill Snook, a spokesman at the health department in Kansas City, Mo. Experts see youth vaping rates at epidemic levels: In 2018, about 1 in 5 high school-age students were reported to use electronic cigarettes, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.And the consequences are vast. Jerry Berkson, an assistant principal at Palo Alto High School in California, said his desk is full of vapes he has confiscated from students.
Gottlieb has threatened e-cig manufacturers, saying the FDA would ban their products if companies didn’t take steps to combat youth vaping. His declaration that youth vaping constituted an “epidemic” has brought attention to the issue, said Samir Soneji, an associate professor of health policy at the Dartmouth Institute.
“They’re proposing things and putting them off into the future. But the actual enactment of their recommendations has not happened yet,” said Minneapolis’ Musicant.
I have heard economists call nicotine a good drug with a bad delivery system (tobacco). I don't advocate use of vape devices but damn if it comes to the lesser of evils, I mean hey...