Concerned by the alarming growth in use of e-cigarettes among minors, the American Medical Association (AMA) has adopted a new policy opposing the sale and marketing of electronic cigarettes and nicotine delivery products to minors.
The new policy extends AMA’s existing policy adopted in 2010 that calls for all electronic cigarettes to be subject to the same regulations and oversight that the FDA applies to tobacco and nicotine products.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that use of electronic cigarettes by students in the nation’s middle and high schools has more than doubled from 3.3 percent in 2011 to 6.8 percent in 2012.
“The AMA supports an FDA proposal to fill the gap in federal regulations on purchasing, labeling, packaging and advertising of electronic cigarettes,” said incoming AMA President Robert M. Wah, MD. “The new policy will guide the AMA’s future efforts to strongly encourage the proposed FDA regulation as a notable and important step to improve public health and deter the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors.”
