FDA's Tobacco and Vape Regulation Is Still a Failure

On June 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the agency was authorizing the sale of four menthol-flavored e-cigarette products through the premarket tobacco product application process. This marked a significant shift in the FDA’s regulatory approach to tobacco harm reduction products and was the first time the agency recognized the role that non-tobacco-flavored products can play in reducing harm. While this change is welcome, the FDA still lags behind in approving life-saving tobacco harm reduction products. The authorization orders bring the total number of legal e-cigarette products in the United States to only 27, illustrating how FDA’s tobacco regulatory authority is hampered by politics rather than guided by science.