U.S. Behind World in Regulating E-Cigarettes // Treaty to Require Most Countries to Crack Down Hard

WASHINGTON - April 24, 2014 - PRLog -- WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 24, 2014): In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration [FDA] is proposing rules which would do little to rein in a product that agency itself has said pose “acute health risks” which “cannot seriously be questioned” because they contain “toxic chemicals,” and that the devices also “present a serious risk of addicting new users, including children.”

        Very recently, after more scientific study, it has added new warnings, noting that "fatalities related to accidental exposure and misuse have occurred,"  "e-cigarette aerosols may include harmful and potentially harmful constituents," "e-cigarettes present risks of unintentional nicotine exposure and are potential choking hazards," "labeling was inadequate or misleading," and that "battery explosions and the risks of exposure to the e-liquid (especially for children) are also concerns."

        In sharp contrast, virtually all other countries in the world are preparing to crack down on electronic cigarettes under a world anti-smoking treaty.  Leaked documents indicate that electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, may by zapped by the World Health Organization [WHO] and placed under a world treaty which would largely ban their advertising and their use in public places where smoking is banned, as well as subject them to punitive tax rates.

        Public interest law professor John Banzhaf, known as the "The Man Behind the Ban on Cigarette Commercials," "a Driving Force Behind the Lawsuits That Have Cost Tobacco Companies Billions of Dollars," and "a Driving Force Behind the Lawsuits That Have Cost Tobacco Companies Billions of Dollars," and who has used legal action to successfully fight the unrestricted use of e-cigarettes in the U.S., says that key officials are planning to include the new products under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control [FCTC] because they otherwise "could result in a new wave of the tobacco epidemic."

        This new information comes at a time when they are facing increased restrictions under the EU, and  growing bans on their use in public and in workplaces in North Dakota, Utah, New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Seattle as well as in many smaller jurisdictions, says Banzhaf, who helped lead the fight for the initial bans in Suffolk County, NY, and in the state of New Jersey.

        The FDA and many national health organization say they are concerned that e-cigarettes  - which have not been proven to their satisfaction to help people quit smoking as nicotine patches and gum have - present serious health risks to users as well as to those around them, lead young people using these "candy cigarettes on steroids" into a life of nicotine addiction, discourage smokers from quitting, and mislead many potential users about the dangers.

        Recent reports indicate that they can also be life-threatening to young children who lick or bite the cartridges which contain deadly concentrations of the neurotoxin nicotine, as the New York Times reported in "Selling a Poison by the Barrel: Liquid Nicotine for E-Cigarettes."  For example, the Kentucky Regional Poison Control Center reporting a 333% increase in calls for help involving them in the past year.

        “Without regulations, Chinese and other manufacturers have been able to conduct a massive experiment in public health with a product containing a deadly and addictive neurotoxin.  They may be making big profits, but we may have unleashed a new and very costly epidemic,” warns Banzhaf.

JOHN F. BANZHAF III, B.S.E.E., J.D., Sc.D.
Professor of Public Interest Law
George Washington University Law School,
FAMRI Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professor,
Fellow, World Technology Network,
Founder, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)
2000 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052, USA
(202) 994-7229 // (703) 527-8418
http://banzhaf.net/ @profbanzhaf