Tobacco

A group of leading public health organizations and advocates pushed back on one coalition’s attempt to convince President Donald Trump to stop FDA from regulating e-cigarettes, saying the coalition’s efforts are an “orchestrated effort by the tobacco industry and its political allies” to protect industry’s profits.

As FDA and Congress take steps toward enhancing reliance on over-the-counter and nonprescription medicine, the OTC drug lobby group, Consumer Healthcare Products Association, continues to advocate for passage of OTC monograph reform legislation, incentivizing OTC drug makers to help spur prescription-to-OTC switches, and oversight of dietary supplements, CHPA President and CEO Scott Melville told Inside Health Policy.

Surgeon General Jerome Adams issued an advisory on Tuesday (Dec. 18) warning about the dangers of e-cigarettes and urging parents, teachers, health care professionals, and state and local governments to apply known effective strategies to help prevent kids from using e-cigarettes.

FDA once again issued a warning letter to an e-cigarette company for selling e-cigarette e-liquids with labeling or advertising that resembles kid-friendly food products and for illegally selling to a minor.

In a slate of tobacco-related policy proposals issued Thursday (Nov. 15), FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the agency will move forward with a proposed ban on menthol in combustible tobacco products, including cigars and cigarettes, as well as a ban on all flavored cigars.

FDA by mid-November will announce a new comprehensive tobacco and nicotine action plan focused on curbing youth use of and addiction to e-cigarettes, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Wednesday (Oct. 31).

FDA plans to issue regulations that outline what information should be included in various tobacco product applications, and it will update currently existing guidance on electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products and e-cigarettes, agency chief Scott Gottlieb says in a press statement Monday (Oct. 22), the same day as FDA's two-day public meeting discussing the tobacco product application review process.

FDA sent letters to 21 e-cigarette companies to find out whether more than 40 products, including some flavored e-cigarette products, are being marketed illegally and outside the agency's current premarket compliance policy, the agency announced Friday (Oct. 12).

E-cigarette manufacturer JUUL Labs says it will work with FDA to devise a plan for how the company can address the widespread youth use of e-cigarettes, coming in response to FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb's announcement that the agency will take enforcement action if JUUL and four other major e-cigarette manufacturers do not respond to the agency's request that they develop plans to reduce youth access and use within 60 days.