The Result of Shutting Down Much of The E-Cigarette Industry Would be That More People Would Continue to Smoke

Sept. 10 -- The Wall Street Journal reported today, citing people familiar with the matter, that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to ask for more time to decide whether it can sell certain e-cigarettes and other products from market leader JUUL Labs Ins in the United States.

Many companies have already received marketing denial orders (MDO) from the FDA. Many companies have gone out of business, filed lawsuits or switched to synthetic nicotine after receiving MDO.

After reporting the news of the FDA's request, Guy Bentley, director of consumer freedom research at the Reason Foundation, tweeted that the FDA could not come together to make a decision on one of the largest companies in this space. This is utter chaos, and the result of shutting down much of the e-cigarette industry will allow more people to continue smoking.

Advocates that e-cigarettes will reduce harm were shocked by the FDA's statement. Jonathan Foulds, a professor of public health science and psychiatry at Penn State University School of Medicine, wrote on Twitter: "So far, this seems like a historic public health goal. It will be interesting to see if the value of cigarette makers' stock rises.

Many experts worry that banning e-cigarettes from the market could harm public health. Guy Bentley warned that the result of shutting down much of the e-cigarette industry would be that more people would continue to smoke.

He noted that most of the products rejected by the FDA to enter the market were rejected not because they were inherently riskier than any approved product, but because the applicants were unable to navigate the FDA's complex regulatory system.

In addition, several studies have shown that if e-cigarette products are limited to tobacco flavors, many e-cigarette users will switch to smoking.
While low-flavor users may be more positively impacted by such policies, other subgroups of young adult users may not benefit. In addition, 39.1% of users said they would likely continue to use e-cigarettes if sales of e-cigarette products were limited to tobacco flavors, but 33.2% of users would likely switch to cigarettes.

Two other recent studies have shown similar results. A study by JAMA Pediatrics showed that teens were more likely to smoke after San Francisco's flavor ban than teens in other school districts. Another study by Nicotine & Tobacco Research showed that adolescents who smoked e-cigarettes would have smoked in the absence of e-cigarettes.