Reynolds American Inc. has submitted a 119-page document to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking it to ban vapor electronic cigarettes, Winston-Salem Journal reported.
The manufacturers have kept e-cigarette flavor choices to a minimum, mainly due to expectations that the FDA would regulate flavors as they have with traditional cigarettes. Meanwhile, vapor/tank/mods (VTM) offer consumers a wider variety of flavors, including fruits and candy.
“We believe FDA should not allow such products to be sold or marketed,” Reynolds spokesman David Howard said in discussing the company’s submission. “We believe open-system vapor products create unique public health risks. “These systems are highly subject to adulteration and tampering, they are manufactured largely overseas in facilities that would, as proposed, fall outside regulatory inspection and oversight, and many nicotine liquids are sold in non-child-resistant packaging in flavors that may be appealing to youth.”
Altria Group Inc. and Lorillard Inc also submitted recommendations – both less stringent that Reynolds – during a public comment period that expired in August.
The FDA began regulating tobacco products and marketing in June 2009, but it does not have the authority to ban nicotine or tobacco.
Reynolds’ recommendations did not come as a surprise to vapor supporters. “R.J. Reynolds’ call for the FDA to ban the majority of e-cigarette products should be seen for what it really is — an admission that it simply cannot compete in the current e-cigarette market,” Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association told the Winston-Salem Journal. “Recent market reports show that while sales of open-system e-cigarette products and e-liquid are booming, sales of closed-system cigarette lookalikes—the kind that Reynolds sells—have stagnated.”
Reynolds American Inc. president and CEO Susan Cameron told Winston-Salem Journal, “Our position is really that these open tanks are really not appropriate. And the reason for that is because people can put whatever they want to in those tanks, and this is a lot of the public outcry. People are putting a lot of things other than nicotine into these pipes.”
