From: CNBC
- Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the agency supports the Food and Drug Administration’s proposed e-cigarette crackdown.
- The FDA earlier this week threatened to pull e-cigarettes from shelves if manufacturers do not control teen use.
- The FDA is specifically ordering five brands — Juul, British American Tobacco’s Vuse, Altria’s MarkTen, Imperial Brands’ Blu E-cigs and Japan Tobacco’s Logic — to submit plans within 60 days detailing how they will prevent teens from using their products.
Regulators aren’t going to allow what they’re calling an epidemic of e-cigarette use among teens become a “pathway to nicotine dependency,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told CNBC on Friday.
The e-cigarette craze has driven what’s arguably the largest uptick in teen nicotine use in decades after years of driving cigarette smoking rates to record lows. Teens who would have never smoked cigarettes are happily inhaling fruity flavors, sometimes without realizing it is packed with nicotine, an addictive substance.