FDA asserts power over e-cigs, local retailers worry about after effect

Public health officials say new federal regulations on popular electronic cigarettes unveiled Thursday are long overdue, but some retailers worry the new rules will hurt the growing industry.

Given broad power over traditional cigarettes and jurisdiction over other tobacco-related products in a 2009 law, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration decided after receiving public comments to bring e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and hookah tobacco products in line with current regulations on cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and roll-your-own tobacco.

The rules - which take effect in 90 days - require companies to submit e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products for regulatory review, provide a list of ingredients and place health warnings on packages and advertisements.

The new FDA regulations also ban the sale of e-cigarettes - handheld electronic devices that vaporize a fluid typically including nicotine and a flavor component - to anyone under age 18. That law already existed in Iowa.

Melissa Walker, deputy director of prevention services with the Area Substance Abuse Council in Cedar Rapids, said the regulations were a positive step in adding rules to the largely unregulated e-cigarette market.

'I definitely think that this has been something that we have been waiting to see happen and we are glad to see this first step, ' Walker said. 'At the same time, there are several concerns that we have related to these products.”

Under new regulations, the FDA will review products introduced after Feb. 15, 2007, but give e-cigarette manufacturers the next two years to submit applications. E-cigarette products can still be sold in that period.

Doug Beardsley, Johnson County Public Health director, said knowing the ingredients in e-cigarette fluids is the first step in identifying any threats they pose.

'You don't know what's in your e-cigarette juice. Currently there is no labeling restrictions, so you don't know what it is,” he said. 'It's not just water vapor. There's other stuff in there, so I think this is a good thing.”

Adam Brandon, chief executive officer with FreedomWorks, a network of advocates for smaller government, called the regulations 'potentially devastating,” in a statement.

'The businesses that will feel the effects of this rule are small mom and pop shops. Big tobacco companies that have invested in e-cigarettes will simply pass on the cost of this regulation to consumers. This is rule isn't about consumer safety - far from it. In fact - it's a blatant power grab by the FDA,” Brandon said.

Matt Hulshizer, store manager with Hawkeye Vapor on Wiley Boulevard in Cedar Rapids, said costly regulations could severely limit the number of producers.

'If the company has enough to pay for the FDA testing and actually gets approved, then it could be business as usual,” he said. 'But it's really going to funnel down the level of choice.”

If producers can't meet FDA rules, retailers will suffer, Hulshizer said. 'It's there's not product to sell, we'll have to shut down,” he said.

Jessica Mitchell, saleswoman with 3rd Street Vape, 218 Third St. SE in Cedar Rapids, said she anticipates producers will increase prices to absorb costs of regulations.

'I would assume, if it's going to cost them more to make it and get regulations, it's probably going to end up costing us more,” Mitchell said. 'I would say, let's see what happens. If it's not a huge price jump, than I'm sure it won't be that bad.”

Health experts behind the regulations have said new rules are aimed at reducing e-cigarettes' perceived role as a gateway other tobacco products for children.

In Iowa, about 6 percent of preteens and teenagers reported having used e-cigarettes within a month, according to a 2014 Iowa Youth Survey, which is completed every few years and measures behaviors of middle- and high-school students.

The survey, which was released in March 2015, was the first time students were asked about e-cigarette use.

Survey results found that e-cigarette use was higher among boys - 7 percent, compared with 5 percent across all groups. Older teens also were more likely to use e-cigarettes, as the survey found that 11 percent of 11th-graders said they used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days compared with 4 percent of eighth-graders and 3 percent of sixth-graders.

Reuters contributed to this report.