Delaware AG Biden targets E-cigarettes

Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden wants to keep electronic cigarettes out of the hands of children.

Biden has joined 39 of his colleagues from other states in calling on the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the sale and marketing of electronic cigarettes.  In a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, the Attorneys General ask for advertising restrictions on e-cigarettes and a ban on sales to minors.”While we have made hard-fought progress in communicating the health hazards of nicotine and reducing cigarette use among young people, I’m concerned about the explosive growth in their use of addictive e-cigarettes,” said Biden.  “Action must be taken to regulate the marketing and sale of these products, especially to children, in order to protect public health.”

The battery powered e-cigarettes heat liquid nicotine to deliver a vapor that is inhaled by the user.  In the letter to the FDA, the AGs write that “consumers are being led to believe that e-cigarettes are a safe alternative to cigarettes, despite the fact that they are addictive, and there is no oversight ensuring the safety of the ingredients in e-cigarettes.”

E-cigarettes have been growing in popularity in recent years, with sales doubling annually over the past five years.