September 24, 2013
Carson City, NV – Emphasizing the need for immediate regulatory oversight of electronic cigarettes (“e-cigarettes”), Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto today urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) to place restrictions on the advertising and ingredients of the popular, highly-addictive product, and prohibit its sale to minors.
“With no federal age restriction, Nevada children and teens are tempted to try addictive electronic cigarettes that contain candy flavors such as gummy bear and bubble gum,” said Masto. “I am hopeful that the FDA will move quickly to ensure all tobacco products are tested and regulated and kept out of the hands of children.”
In a bipartisan letter co-sponsored by Massachusetts Attorney Martha Coakley and Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, and joined by 38 other Attorneys General, AG Masto urges the FDA to take all available measures to regulate e-cigarettes as “tobacco products” under the Tobacco Control Act.
E-cigarettes are an increasingly widespread product that is growing rapidly among both youth and adults. E-cigarettes are battery operated products that heat liquid nicotine, derived from tobacco plants, into a vapor that is inhaled by the user. E-cigarette manufacturers are using marketing tactics similar to those big tobacco used in the last 50 to 100 years to attract new smokers. Celebrity endorsements, television advertising, cartoons, fruit flavors, attractive packaging and cheap prices all serve to encourage youth consumption of these dangerous products.
State Attorneys General have fought for years to protect people from the dangers of tobacco products. In 1998, the attorneys general of 52 states (including Nevada), and territories signed a landmark agreement with the four largest tobacco companies in the United States to recover billions of dollars in costs associated with smoking-related illnesses, and restrict cigarette advertising to prevent youth smoking.
Click here to read the letter to the FDA.
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