On Sept. 12 the FDA talked of cracking down on the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes in the United States. This is due to the recent illegal sales of electronic-cigarettes to children under 18. After seeing that over 1,000 stores, on and offline, had been illegally selling e-cigarettes to minors, the FDA sent warning letters and fines to the retailers who had sold these e-cigarettes.
FDA Commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, made a speech regarding e-cigarettes later that day. “We [the FDA] see clear signs that youth use of electronic cigarettes has reached an epidemic proportion,” Gottlieb said.
The FDA has taken note of the epidemic-level issue, and has started warning children about the dangers of e-cigarettes, along with normal cigarettes, in their campaign titled “The Real Cost”.
“I think that e-cigarettes are a good step to avoid actual smoking, but smokers should also think of another alternative to just e-cigarettes, because they’re just, like, pure nicotine,” said Xavi Gaudette ‘21.
E-cigarettes contain nicotine, just like regular cigarettes. Nicotine is the substance in cigarettes that people become addicted to. Nicotine “has also been found to be carcinogenic in several studies,” according to PubMed Central. Carcinogens are substances that increase the risk of developing cancer in living tissue.
”Electronic cigarettes were designed to be a tool to stop smoking, not as an alternative to smoking,” Aaron Haugen, a health teacher at South, said.
“The studies that have recently come out also show that when people aren’t getting the nicotine they think they should have, the more likely they are to actually try cigarettes,” Haugen said, in response to being asked whether or not e-cigarettes were a safe alternative to traditional cigarette smoking.
The FDA will give retailers 60 days to come up with a plan to crack down on the sale of electronic cigarettes, or “historic action” will be taken.
