USA TODAY International Edition

Vaping power rises in regulation fight

Lobbyists pushing to exempt product from approval by FDA

- Fredreka Schouten and Jayne O’Donnell

The electronic cigarette industry and its free- market allies are seeing fresh opportunit­ies to ease federal rules on e- cigarettes as Congress races to pass a government spending bill this week and President Trump fills key public- health posts in his administra­tion.

More than a dozen conservati­ve groups wrote to congressio­nal leaders this week, calling on them to add a pro- vaping provision to a spending measure that must pass by midnight Friday to avert a government shutdown. If successful, the measure would be the latest sign of the $ 4.4 billion vaping industry’s growing clout in Washington.

The provision favored by the industry was introduced by Reps. Tom Cole, R- Okla., and Sanford Bishop, D- Ga., and would exempt thousands of vaping products on the market from Food and Drug Administra­tion approval. A rule issued last year by the Obama administra­tion “deems” e- cigarettes to be tobacco products and allows the FDA to retroactiv­ely examine all tobacco products on the market in February 2007.

The e- cigarette industry was virtually non- existent before then, and industry advocates say the costly FDA approval process would force most e- cigarette companies to shut down.

Some public- health advocates counter that the agency’s review under the “deeming rule” would allow regulators to guarantee the safety of electronic cigarettes and the nicotine- infused liquid they use in their products.

The potential for the ColeBishop provision to become law comes as Trump himself moves to slash Obama- era regulation­s and the Senate weighs his pick to run the FDA, Scott Gottlieb.

Gottlieb, a physician and former FDA official, served on the board of an e- cigarette retailer. He also has a financial stake in the company and has pledged to sell off that holding if confirmed by the Senate. During a recent confirmati­on hearing, Gottlieb said “reduced harm products,” such as e- cigarettes, should be available “to consumers to transition them off combustibl­e cigarettes.”

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is scheduled to vote Thursday on Gottlieb’s nomination.

Keith Nelson of the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Associatio­n said he “is greatly encouraged” by Trump’s moves to reduce regulation­s across the government and supports Gottlieb’s approach to vaping regulation.

“We want this to be dominated by reason and sound science, not public- health hysteria,” he said.

Grover Norquist, the head of the conservati­ve Americans for Tax Reform, has become a vocal advocate for e- cigarette producers and consumers and this week praised Gottlieb as “somebody who won’t try to kill vaping, who actually cares about health.”

The Obama administra­tion’s rule giving the FDA authority to regulate e- cigarettes has sparked intense lobbying to roll back the provisions. The companies also are fighting the rule in court.

Key players include traditiona­l tobacco companies. R. J. Reynolds, for instance, produces ecigarette­s under the brand VUSE, which represents 35% of the electronic cigarettes sold in convenienc­e stores and gas stations.

Critics charge that e- cigarettes’ candy- like flavors lure young people to vaping, which can then lead them to tobacco.

But some say the flavors improve the likelihood that smokers will be attracted to vaping to help quit smoking, says Jeff Stier, an ecigarette advocate with the freemarket National Center for Public Policy Research.

E- cigarette use has climbed rapidly among young people.

Among high school students, ecigarette use rose from 1.5% in 2011 to 16% in 2015, according to a report issued last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And public health officials warn that nicotine is an addictive substance that could harm brain developmen­t.

 ?? RON JOHNSON, AP ?? Stephanie Wilson of Breathe Vapor exhales e- cigarette smoke.
RON JOHNSON, AP Stephanie Wilson of Breathe Vapor exhales e- cigarette smoke.

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