FDA e-cig campaign

The US Food and Drug Administration says that as part of its efforts to inform young people about, and help protect them from, the dangers of using tobacco products, it is expanding its ‘The Real Cost’ public-education campaign to include what it calls ‘advertising’ about e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).

‘New messages focus specifically on how nicotine can rewire the developing brain to crave more nicotine,’ it said in a note delivered through the Center for Tobacco Products Connect forum.

‘This is the first time FDA will explicitly address youth use of e-cigarettes through campaign advertising.

‘“The Real Cost” campaign, launched in February 2014, initially focused on reaching millions of 12-to-17-year-olds open to trying smoking or already experimenting with cigarettes.

‘An FDA-supported study by an independent research firm has indicated that exposure to this award-winning campaign between 2014 and 2016 prevented an estimated 350,000 youth ages 11 to 18 from smoking.

‘In light of this success, and considering that more than two million US teens currently use e-cigarettes, FDA is expanding “The Real Cost” to explicitly address youth vaping.’

“Expanding our highly successful public education efforts to include messaging about the dangers of youth use of these products is a critical part of our work to keep all tobacco products out of the hands of kids,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D, was quoted as saying.

See also yesterday’s story: Real Cost campaign unreal.