Electronic cigarette and tobacco
The U.S. government said it plans to regulate cigarettes electronic products like snuff. The announcement of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA for its acronym in English) came after the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia determined that these devices are not drugs or devices unless they are marketed for therapeutic purposes.
Electronic cigarettes are marketed under names such as NJOY, mimic the act of smoking include nicotine, but do not make the same kind of smell or ash.
Last December three-judge appeals court ruled that the FDA could regulate as snuff products and not drugs. They also said the FDA could not block the import of such products, giving the possibility Inc Sottera begin importing its products NJOY.
The FDA said in an announcement on its Web site that is working on a strategy to regulate cigarettes as electronic devices, which are not subject to review requirements before entering the market, like snuff products.
The Campaign for Snuff-Free Kids said he was disappointed that the U.S. government does not appeal the ruling of the court of appeals.
The group said the ruling would open a loophole that allows manufacturers add nicotine to products, circumventing the regulations that apply to traditional medicines and other smoking cessation products including nicotine free snuff.
A group representing companies that manufacture these products, the Vapor Electronic Cigarette Tobacco Association, could not immediately be reached for comment.