The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a four-part plan of enforcement and regulatory steps to stop U.S. youth from having access to and using e-cigarettes.
The four steps include undercover actions, direct manufacturer contact, enforcement, and more:
- The first step is an ongoing large-scale, undercover "blitz" targeting brick-and-mortar and online retailers who sell e-cigarettes to minors. This blitz will continue throughout April and has already revealed numerous violations, according to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD.
- The second step involved contacting the online auction website eBay, which removed e-cigarette product listings from the website and voluntarily implemented measures to prevent new listings from being posted.
- Direct contact with e-cigarette manufacturers is the third step, including manufacturer accountability and to learn why children find these products appealing.
- The fourth step will include additional enforcement on e-cigarette companies whose marketing is the administration considers misleading to children.
Additional steps would be announced soon, according to Dr. Gottlieb.
"These actions are just the first in a series of efforts we're pursuing as part of our newly formed Youth Tobacco Prevention Plan," he noted in an FDA statement.
The FDA will continue to invest in science-based campaigns to educate youth about the dangers of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, Dr. Gottlieb added.
