San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban e-cigarettes.
The law mandates that any products be evaluated by the FDA before being sold in a premarket review. Because no manufacturers have done that yet, the law will halt all vape sales in about seven months, according to CNN.
The legislation is seen as a way to crack down on what the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) called a youth vaping “epidemic.” But San Francisco-based e-cigarette company Juul Labs Inc. said it has taken steps to prevent children from buying and using its products. The company has taken down its Facebook and Instagram accounts as a way to deter those under 21 years old from buying its products.
“This full prohibition will drive former adult smokers who successfully switched to vapor products back to deadly cigarettes, deny the opportunity to switch for current adult smokers, and create a thriving black market instead of addressing the actual causes of underage access and use,” the company said in a statement.
Groups representing small businesses also oppose the measure, saying it would force some stores out of business.
Earlier this month, the Beverly Hills City Council voted 5-0 to end the sales of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco and other tobacco products beginning in 2021. The ban will cover tobacco sales at gas stations, pharmacies, convenience and grocery stores.
Meanwhile, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently finalized its guidance for manufacturers submitting new tobacco product applications through the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway for electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), which includes e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine and nicotine-containing e-liquids, “as part of the agency’s continued commitment to its oversight of tobacco products.”
The agency said manufacturers or importers must demonstrate, among other things, that marketing of the new tobacco product would be appropriate for the protection of the public health.