The piece called Advancing Tobacco Regulation to Protect Children and Families: Updates and New Initiatives from the FDA on the Anniversary of the Tobacco Control Act and FDA’s Comprehensive Plan for Nicotine, seems to indicate that the agency’s prohibitory stance may be a thing of the past. The FDA has finally announced steps geared towards making it easier for manufacturers to launch new and innovative products on the market.
“This summer marks nine years since the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA) was signed into law, and one year since we announced the FDA’s Comprehensive Plan for Tobacco and Nicotine Regulation. This comprehensive plan places nicotine, and the issue of addiction, at the center of the agency’s tobacco regulation efforts. The multi-year roadmap provides a framework for regulating nicotine and tobacco and is designed to reframe the conversation around nicotine and harm reduction.” reads the piece.
An article on The Examiner, rightly pointed out that since last year, “there hasn’t been any clarity, transparency, or efficiency in the approval process for products,” as any efforts surrounding the products have included threatening statements related to e-liquid flavour bans and youth vaping.
A transparent framework for manufacturers
However this may be changing. The first step of the announced plan is the most important, as it brings clarity to vaping companies on how to launch new products or keep existing products on the market. Amongst other things, the FDA said that they “will lay out a transparent, modern, and science-based framework for manufacturing practices and the development of tobacco product applications that meet the legal requirements.”
