FDA Authorizes More E-Cigarette Products

FRIDAY, March 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized several tobacco-flavored vaping products made by the company Logic on Thursday, and added that it would soon announce whether other big-name brands can continue to sell their products in this country.

The agency said it has acted on approximately 99 percent of the nearly 6.7 million e-cigarette products submitted for authorization, including denial orders for more than 1 million products. The agency has yet to rule on products from Juul Labs, which controls 42 percent of the electronic cigarette market.

"We know that there is a demand among adult smokers to use e-cigarette products to try to switch from more harmful combusted cigarettes, but millions of youth are using these products and getting addicted to nicotine," FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, M.D., noted in an agency news release. "The balance of these issues was considered by the agency's career scientists when evaluating the potential marketing of e-cigarette products."

Critics pointed out that the agency is long past a court-ordered deadline to decide which e-cigarettes can remain on the market, including those that may appeal to youngsters.

While the FDA approved several tobacco-flavored products from Logic, it said no to some of the company's other products and has yet to make a decision on others, including some with menthol. In its reasoning, the agency said the company's tobacco-flavored products likely benefit adult smokers by providing an alternative to traditional cigarettes. In October, the FDA gave the green light to several tobacco-flavored products made by R.J. Reynolds.

The authorization does not mean the products are safe or are "FDA-approved," the agency stressed in its release. "All tobacco products are harmful and potentially addictive. Those who do not use tobacco products shouldn't start."

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