New FDA Law May Signal End of Vaping Industry

By Amy Jeanroy

As of Monday, August 8, it is now illegal to sell Vaping items of any kind to anyone under the age of 18. The new ruling states: 

It will become illegal nationwide to sell cigars, hookah tobacco, and e-cigarettes to anyone under age 18 and retailers will need to check photo ID of anyone under age 27.

Retailers will not be allowed to give away free samples of newly deemed tobacco products.

Retailers will not be allowed to sell cigars, hookah tobacco, and e-cigarettes in a vending machine where anyone under age 18 has access at any time.

Until now hookah tobacco and e-cigarette markets remained unregulated, creating a market environment Mitch Zeller, J.D., Director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products referred to as the Wild, Wild West. 

According to the FDA, there has been a significant decline in the use of traditional cigarettes among youth over the past decade,  but their use of other tobacco products continues to climb – putting a new generation of kids at risk of addiction. E-cigarette use, rose  from 1.5 percent in 2011 to 16 percent in 2015 (an over 900 percent increase) among high school students; and hookah use also increased significantly. And every day, more teenage boys try a cigar than try a cigarette.

Additionally, FDA will now be able to review new tobacco products not yet on the market, prevent misleading claims and help better provide consumers with information to make informed decisions about their tobacco use. Product manufacturers will be required to register and list their products with FDA.  And all newly regulated products will need to get a marketing order from FDA, unless they are grandfathered (were sold in the U.S. as of February 15, 2007.) Manufacturers will also be required to report ingredients and harmful and potentially harmful constituents in their products.

“E-cigarettes are now the most commonly used tobacco product among youth, and use continues to climb...No form of youth tobacco use is safe. Nicotine is an addictive drug and use during adolescence may cause lasting harm to brain development.” says CDC Director Tom Frieden. 

Greg Conley, the president of the American Vaping Association, says that he believes the new rules could effectively spell the end of the industry.