FDA Rules Similar to Council on Electronic Cigarettes

Did you see that the Food and Drug Administration issued sweeping new rules that regulate electronic cigarettes and ban their sale to minors?

Last year the County Council unanimously approved my bill to ban the use of electronic cigarettes wherever traditional tobacco smoking is prohibited and to require child-resistant packaging for liquid nicotine. At that time, we knew that the FDA was looking at electronic cigarettes, but we didn’t know if or when the agency would take action. I was not willing to gamble with our kids’ health and urged the Council not to wait.

I was concerned about health effects of the nicotine and other potentially harmful chemicals found in e-cigs. Perhaps swayed by the belief that electronic cigarettes are safe, or emboldened by the fact that e-cigs have little odor that parents could detect, teens who have never tried traditional cigarettes are using e-cigs, putting themselves at risk for nicotine addiction, nicotine poisoning or exposure to harmful chemicals.

Now, I am very pleased that the federal government is following our lead and is taking aggressive steps to keep electronic out of the hands of minors.