JEFFERSONTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Food and Drug Administration is considering tougher regulations that could prompt shops to pull flavored electronic cigarette products from shelves.
The FDA argues the sugary and fruity flavors lure children to vape and then eventually get addicted to traditional tobacco. But vape shop supports say it is difficult to draw the line with flavors and advertisements as to what targets children versus adults.
“There are currently thousands of different flavors on the market,” said Derb-E Cigs owner Troy LeBlanc. “Some you may call kid flavors, but I don’t know a single adult that stopped eating cake when they turned 18 years old.”
In an effort to reduce the number of underage teenagers from vaping, the FDA was considering banning all e-cig flavors. But this week, the administration announced it will instead focus on tougher policies with manufacturers that distribute to shops that are not age-restricted, often convenience and grocery stores. This could ultimately force those places to pull the products.
“The biggest impact is going to be to the consumer,” LeBlanc said. “The consumer is used to being able to get their everyday vape products in common convenience stores. And the FDA is trying to push that to age-verified areas, like vape shops.”
The popular company Juul pulled its flavored vape products ahead of the new FDA announcement.
LeBlanc said vape shops are ahead of the game and have always been serious about preventing underage purchases.
“We have been checking IDs since day one,” he said. “We have made an 18-plus rule since before it was even a law.”
At every one of LeBlanc’s shops, everyone’s ID is checked before making a purchase. And now, if you’re under 18, you cannot even come inside the shop. His employees have also been trained through a state-run program to recognize and prevent underage tobacco sales.
The FDA recognized that the vape shops are doing a good job at the forefront on age restriction,” said Greg Troutman, the general counsel for the Kentucky Smoke Free Association.
Earlier this year, the FDA sent violation notices to more than 1,300 shops across the nation for illegally selling vape products to underage customers. And 99 percent of those shops were convenience stores and gas stations.
Troutman believes the new FDA announcement could help reduce the underage use by reducing illegal sales. The other possibility is that it will limit the availability for legal customers to buy vape products.
As a new industry, health studies are still underway and regulations are still being formed. LeBlanc said industry leaders have learned from their mistakes and are conscious of their advertising and marketing techniques in the future. He said they will follow all the rules, because they believe the products help adults make positive life changes by quitting smoking.
“We give adults an alternative to smoking that doesn’t taste as bad as smoking,” she said.
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