FDA May Ban Life-Saving Cigarettes

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You may be aware of the latest trend in nicotine acquisition products – electronic cigarettes. E-cigarettes deliver nicotine through water vapor that is heated by a small battery in a cigarette-shaped device like the one shown above. They contain none of the harmful chemicals found in tobacco smoke, they don't create an offensive odor, and they can be used indoors. Because they mimic the oral-fixation-satisfying behavior of a real cigarette – complete with "smoke" that is inhaled and exhaled – many smokers who want to cut down or quit might find e-cigarettes a useful option. E-cigarette maker NJOY markets their product as "all the pleasures of smoking without all the problems." E-cigarettes also can be a relatively cheaper alternative to tobacco products, especially following last month's 160% federal cigarette tax hike.

So naturally, the government wants to ban them. But at least one e-cigarette manufacturer isn't backing down:

A Florida company that imports and distributes so-called electronic cigarettes filed suit yesterday against the Food and Drug Administration, claiming the agency is illegally blocking imports of its product into the United States.

The suit, filed by Smoking Everywhere in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that the FDA has overstepped its regulatory authority by banning shipments of the devices and insisting they need to go through the drug approval process. […]

Congress is currently considering the Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act, which would give the FDA explicit power to regulate cigarettes. [smoking Everywhere lawyer Walt] Linscott notes that the law would probably give it the right to oversee e-cigarettes as well.

A federal agency abusing its authority in the name of regulating personal behavior? Can you imagine? Of course, e-cigarettes may not be completely risk-free, but they certainly can't be more dangerous than traditional tobacco-burning cigarettes. Nicotine acquisition products such as gum and patches have been on the market for bloody ages, so there can't be any serious concern about the safety of adults choosing to ingest nicotine. So why target e-cigarettes?

Perhaps the well-meaning public servants at the FDA are disdainful of any behavior that represents tobacco smoking because the negative health effects of traditional cigarettes are widely known. But if that's the case, why ban a safer alternative to tobacco? If the FDA is successful in its ban, it will deprive smokers of the choice to use a product that could add years to their lives, forcing them to continue using traditional cigarettes and paying obnoxiously high taxes. (Ah, I think I may have answered my own question there.)

Source: http://www.411mania.com/politics/columns/103662