FDA vs. vaping: kids and e-cigs.

• Author: Mangu-Ward, Katherine
• Position: Citings - Food and Drug Administration - Brief article

IN A SEPTEMBER 29 letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 33 state attorneys general urged the federal regulatory agency to require childproof packaging and strongly worded warning labels for liquid nicotine. They also recommended a prohibition on cartoons and bright colors when advertising the product, similar to the restrictions already in place on tobacco.

As vaping increases in popularity--the document refers to this as "the unchecked growth of the e-cigarette industry"--the market for liquid nicotine e-cig refills and other "novel tobacco products" has rapidly expanded. The FDA has consistently looked for ways to regulate the goods, which are typically not marketed as medical devices.

The letter cites the alarming-sounding statistic that from 2012 to 2014, reported "exposures to liquid nicotine" increased 800...