Statement from Yolonda C. Richardson, President and CEO, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

/PRNewswire/ - The FDA's recently released guidance on Enforcement Priorities for new tobacco products represents a significant concession to Big Tobacco, enabling illegal products - including e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches - to stay on shelves without undergoing complete scientific scrutiny and FDA authorization. Adding to the concern, this guidance was issued without public input, diverging from the agency's traditional practices and the Department of Health and Human Services' pledge to openness.

This policy lets products with pending applications evade enforcement risks, granting major tobacco firms immunity to continue selling their wares - even flavored varieties that attract youth - without repercussions. Under the federal Tobacco Control Act, the FDA must perform stringent scientific assessments of new tobacco products and grant authorization prior to legal market entry. Filing an application alone does not shield companies from enforcement; any product lacking FDA approval is illegally available for sale.

Worries over this guidance intensify given the U.S. government's lack of meaningful enforcement against illicit tobacco products since last summer. To effectively combat this issue, the FDA alongside agencies like U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Justice must intensify operations to halt sales of all unapproved tobacco items. For optimal results, enforcement should span the entire supply chain, targeting manufacturers, distributors, importers, and retailers breaching the law.

The inaction on enforcing regulations against unauthorized tobacco products carries serious public health risks. Despite U.S. advances in curbing youth tobacco use, over 1.4 million middle and high school students now vape e-cigarettes, and nicotine pouch usage has risen sharply among youth lately. Flavors are central to youth uptake and ongoing addiction to tobacco. Roughly 4 in 5 young people who have tried tobacco began with flavored options, and nearly 90 percent of youth e-cigarette users prefer flavors.

This guidance emerges alongside media reports that the FDA has encountered White House pressure to greenlight additional flavored e-cigarettes. It is profoundly disheartening that the FDA has yielded to political influences instead of adhering to scientific evidence and legal mandates to safeguard youth.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids