Why new age verification technology could help solve youth appeal
By Chris Allen
The use of e-cigarettes has become more prominent as a smoking cessation tool and has gained popularity among young people. This has caused governments to act, with administrations across the U.K. introducing bans on disposable vaping devices to curb their popularity. One solution is for manufacturers to ensure proper age-gating technology is in place. In this article, Chris Allen, CEO of nicotine testing and regulatory consultancy Broughton, outlines the age-gating options that are available to manufacturers and how it can help bring products to market quicker.
As governments ban disposables, there is an increasing focus on what manufacturers and retailers can do to replace them but without treading a similar path with subsequent vaping products. The challenge of switching adult smokers presents a paradoxical situation in that any reduced-risk nicotine product must deliver sufficient nicotine to relieve cravings. However, such a delivery mechanism introduces a risk of abuse liability, i.e., the potential to addict naive nicotine users. Disposable products are an exceptional tool to replace the convenience of a pack of cigarettes and a box of matches, due to convenience. Yet, this convenience also increases the risk of abuse liability to youth.
A shift toward reusable, pod-based systems is likely, given that, prior to disposables’ rise, these were the main consumer products to emerge as the main alternative to smoking.
Therefore, any leading product that emerges following a disposables ban must not follow the same route as disposables when it comes to youth appeal.
While many suggest different flavors are part of the youth appeal, there is evidence from studies, including one from the University of Bristol, published in the Journal of Harm Reduction, that a variety of flavors is one of the factors helping smokers quit, with some participants in the study suggesting that a ban on flavors could lead to those who had quit using vapes to return to combustible cigarettes. However, manufacturers may need to take steps to ensure new products do not end up in the hands of young people.
Indeed, in the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration has placed stringent marketing restrictions to prevent youth access and exposure, including the enforcement of existing laws, prohibiting vending machines from selling the products and its youth tobacco prevention plan, which features education programs for both teenagers and for retailers. With flavored products, there is a higher burden of proof on the manufacturer that the benefit to adults who use combustible cigarettes outweighs the increased risk of youth use.
Age-Gating
To ensure that vapes don’t end up in the hands of young people, age verification technology has been suggested as one solution to combat this issue. There are several passive youth access prevention measures in place, such was those that prohibit the sale of vapes to minors and the prevention of marketing targeting these age groups, but the evidence suggests that this is insufficient. Within the U.S., the FDA has clearly stated that marketing and sales restrictions alone are not sufficient to mitigate the risk to youth when assessing applications for a nontobacco-flavored product.
There is a clear need to develop active measures that ensure vaping products do not end up in young peoples’ hands. Therefore, there has been a market trend toward biometric restrictions for age verification. Retailers, for example, have been experimenting with digital identification tools, but there is scope for manufacturers to include age-gating technology in their product design.
There is a chance that regulators, such as the FDA, will look favorably on age-gating technology being included as part of the product. Rather than waiting several years for a marketing order like with existing smoking cessation products, manufacturers who include age-gating technology may find a quicker route to market.
Should manufacturers decide to include age-gating technology to prevent youth access, it is essential that the robustness and security of the technology is demonstrated during any regulatory submission. Additionally, it’s important not to create barriers for adult smokers, as complex procedures of device locks may see nicotine users reaching for the most accessible source of nicotine, combustible cigarettes.
There are several ways in which a manufacturer may approach the age-gating issue. For example, one solution may be through a mobile app and user database, but manufacturers need to pay a lot of consideration to the technology infrastructure—in how any software works with the device and any third-party age verification tool.
By working with an expert partner from the outset on product design, analytical testing, stability studies and regulatory standards, this can help bring manufacturers’ next-generation product to market quicker.
