With Commissioner Scott Gottlieb leaving the Food and Drug Administration, many felt that this would help the e-cigarette commerce, which the commissioner criticized for increasing the teen population in vaping. The effects of his immediate resignation notice are not that simple.
Last September, Gottlieb stated that vaping amongst teens is an epidemic and imposed a threat to pull out products if there are no changes made. He also called the attention of executives from Japan Tobacco International, Imperial Brands, Altria, British American Tobacco, and Juul to let them know how serious he was. Also, Gottlieb announced that FDA would enforce the prohibition of selling fruity “juices” of nicotine on convenience stores last November.
Juul, the company that Gottlieb faults for the “epidemic,” stopped selling most of their flavored nicotine and deactivated their social media accounts. However, after the San Francisco based business took a billion dollar venture from Altria, maker of Marlboro, which made Gottlieb reproached Juul of going back on their word.
Gottlieb Leaving: Effects Too Early to Tell
Even with all the fervor and bravado that he showed, Gottlieb wasn’t as formidable as he could have been. Though with Gottlieb’s resignation, tobacco company seems to be rejoicing with their stocks jumped up on Tuesday, industry executives said that it is too early to tell how the former commissioner’s quitting will affect the vaping companies. Executives are concerned that his replacement might ditch the regulatory efforts and aggravate the teen use which will lead to Congress stepping in.
From being under fire for deferring the 2016 regulation that could have permitted the FDA to start removing vapes from the market, a move that most groups commended but received negative criticism from the health group. He avoided the restriction of the e-cig companies from marketing the goods that he finds liable on the increased use by adolescents, which most lawmakers have lobbied against.
George Conley, President of the American Vaping Association, a group that pushes for “utilitarian” regulation of vaping, said that Gottlieb could have tried to pull the products and overturned the application leeway.
With Gottlieb seemed tough on teens using e-cigarettes, he also acknowledges the product as a medium to help adults in weening from flammable cigarettes. Low quitting rates has led to smoking killing almost half a million Americans every year.
The Future of the E-Cigarette
Vapes are considered to be a less damaging substitute for to cigarettes, but the long-term health hazards are still unknown. Cheryl Healton, NYU’s College of Global Public Health Dean, commends Gottlieb for delving the complexities and vigorous debate in regards to the use of e-cigs.
According to Healton, the info on how beneficial vapes are for those people who are trying to quit and how destructive they are for the youth is a moving goal, which she acknowledges as hard to implement in a situation in which you are associating with one or more poignant targets.
Though the former commissioner won’t see through his tobacco policies, Gottlieb said at an event presented by The Hill, Gottlieb noted that the FDA will still implement the restriction towards the sale of e-cigarette juices before he leaves within the month. He added that he surmises that his replacement will continue the task that he started.
Just months of starting in 2017, Gottlieb revealed a strategy to decrease the quantity of nicotine in flammable cigarettes to minimal or a more less addicting level and getting more smokers to shift to vapes. He also has designed a proposal to prohibit menthol and flavored cigarettes.
The replacement which remains unknown may most likely stick to the Trump management policy of rolling back protocols and not adding them. Although most of the industry execs are rejoicing Gottlieb’s leaving, Vapers United Spokeswoman Liz Mair said that it something not to celebrate since no one knows who the successor is.
