FDA to tighten rules on sales of e-cigs
U.S. health regulators are now forging ahead with a plan designed to keep e-cigarettes out of the hands of teenagers by restricting sales of most flavoured products in convenience stores, gas stations, pharmacies and other retail locations.
The new guidelines, first proposed by the Food and Drug Administration in November, are the latest government effort to reverse what health officials call an epidemic of underage vaping.
Under proposed FDA guidelines released Wednesday, e-cigarette makers would need to restrict sales of most flavoured products to stores that verify the age of customers upon entry or include a separate, age-restricted area for vaping products. Companies would also be expected to use third-party, identity-verification technology for online sales. "The onus is now on the companies and the vaping industry to work with us to try and bring down these levels of youth use, which are simply intolerable," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in an interview.
