Newswise — Oct. 6, 2022 – Today’s data from the CDC Youth Tobacco Survey provides alarming, disappointing, but unsurprising news: more kids are using e-cigarette products. This news is alarming in that half a million more kids reported using e-cigarettes products and taking their first step towards a lifetime of nicotine addiction. It is unsurprising that candy and sweetened, flavored e-cigarettes continue to drive the youth nicotine market. Flavors are essential to lure kids into tobacco use. Remove the flavors and the vast majority of these kids will never start using e-cigarette.
“Ultimately, the latest CDC Youth Tobacco Survey is disappointing because it confirms what we believe to be true,” said Greg Downey, MD, ATSF, president of the American Thoracic Society. “Today’s youth e-cigarette epidemic is a product of the e-cigarette industry’s continued efforts to prey on our nation’s kids and the FDA’s passive approach to regulating e-cigarette products.”
The FDA has the authority to remove flavors from e-cigarette products but has failed to act. Many of the products kids are using have not even applied for FDA review let alone completed the review process, and yet the Agency has failed to take effective action to remove these products from the market.
We expect better going forward.
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