WASHINGTON, D.C. April 22, 2016 Sunday marks two years since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed deeming rule to exert its jurisdiction to regulate all tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes and cigars. A statement from Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), on the continued delays in issuing a final rule follows:
Two years ago, the FDA took the first step to regulate increasingly popular tobacco products, including e- cigarettes, cigars and hookah. Since then, the administration has yet to finalize that initial step toward regulation.
Until the FDA takes the necessary regulatory steps, the tobacco industry will continue to engage in deceptive practices to make unregulated tobacco products attractive and accessible to young consumers. The repercussions of these delays are apparent as a recently released youth survey shows 4.7 million middle and high school students used tobacco products in 2015. Additionally, e-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among teens.
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, passed in 2009, granted the FDA authority to assert regulatory jurisdiction over all tobacco products. And, after an extraordinary seven years has elapsed, no final regulatory action has been taken by the administration to deal with these unregulated products.
There are more than 45 million tobacco users in the U.S. and tobacco use remains the largest preventable cause of death in this country. We urge the FDA to use its authority and take immediate action to regulate all tobacco products. It 's time to take this long overdue step to protect public health.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem.æACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visitæwww.fightcancer.org.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Jill Courtney or Alissa Crispino
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 585-3278 or (202) 661-5772
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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