Tag: consumer choice center

U.S. States Fail to Harness Vaping’s Potential: Report

Photo: pavelkant

The Consumer Choice Center has released its second U.S. State Vaping Index, which looks at 50 states plus the District of Columbia. It reveals that only three states, including Alaska, North Dakota and Tennessee, received an A+ in the study for an evidence-based approach to vaping policy.
This rating means these states are in a position to harness the enormous potential of vaping as a harm-reduction tool while still letting consumers choose for themselves. Other states that perform well are Arizona, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
By contrast, 12 states have overwhelmingly embraced restrictive policies on vapers and vaping, including Utah (0 points), California (second to last at 5 points), Vermont (10 points), Oregon, New York, New Jersey, Nebraska, Massachusetts, Illinois, Hawaii, D.C. and Colorado (all at 15 points). The number of low scores has doubled since the 2020 edition of the Vaping Index.
“Vaping saves lives,” said Emil Panzaru, research director for the Consumer Choice Center. “If every smoker in the United States switched to vaping over 10 years, you’d have 6.6 million fewer premature deaths in the U.S.
“Unfortunately, policymakers across America do not recognize that vaping is a valid harm-reduction substitute for traditional combustible tobacco products. Vapes are often mistakenly referred to as tobacco products, and in turn, targeted with draconian flavor bans, taxed higher than cigarettes, subject to registries meant to gatekeep the products, and faced with bans on online sales.
“These policies deter consumers from switching away from the more dangerous habit of smoking and fuel black markets for vape products. The end result is a patchwork of state laws at odds with the most up-to-date public health practices from around the world.”
The purpose of the U.S. Vaping Index is to inform consumers about vaping policies in their area and highlight the need for more informed and level-headed lawmaking. The Consumer Choice Center weighed five factors in the index:
1) Whether the state considers vapes to be tobacco products;
2) State-level vaping flavor restrictions;
3) Requirements for state registries (which mirror the FDA-approved database);
4) Additional excise taxes on vaping; and
5) The presence or absence of online sales bans.
“Let’s set the empirical record straight,” said Panzaru. “The best available research by authorities such as Public Health England recognizes that vaping is 95 percent safer than combustible tobacco for users. Evidence in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that vaping is twice as effective at smoking cessation than any nicotine tablet, patch or spray at helping people quit smoking.
“What’s more, a review of 15 different studies found little evidence of a supposed gateway effect leading teens down the path from vaping to smoking or hard substances.”
“Rather than embracing policies that ignore the evidence and do not work, state authorities should commit to studying and learning from the example of Sweden, the first country to become smoke-free in Europe thanks to the research-driven recognition of vapes as harm-reduction tools,” Panzaru concluded.

October 16, 2024
Video: FDA Urged to Prioritize Access to Safer Alternatives

Consumer advocates spoke out against what they describe as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s “alarming neglect” in facilitating access to safer nicotine alternatives for millions of adult consumers during a House Oversight hearing today.
“Despite the bipartisan mandate of the Tobacco Control Act of 2009, the FDA’s performance has fallen short of expectations, leaving countless individuals without viable options to effectively transition away from combustible cigarettes,” the Consumer Choice Center wrote in a press note.
“With over 26 million premarket tobacco product applications (PMTA) languishing in bureaucratic limbo, the FDA has only authorized fewer than 50 granted to just a handful of firms, completely disregarding the 180-day review deadline set imposed by Congress,” said Consumer Choice Center U.S. Policy Analyst Elizabeth Hicks.
“Less than 10 unique devices are available on the regulated marketplace, all of which come from industry incumbents, not to mention the growing categories of nicotine alternatives such as heaters, pouches, toothpicks, and more.
“This blatant failure highlights a systemic issue within the agency, where regulatory inertia trumps the urgent need to provide consumers with safer nicotine alternatives such as e-cigarettes which studies have shown to be 95 percent less harmful than combustible cigarettes. As a result, consumers are being pushed towards the illicit market, which does not adhere to regulatory standards, to find their preferred nicotine alternative products,” said Hicks.
“Consumers are deeply troubled by the FDA’s abject failure to fulfill its obligations under the Tobacco Control Act. It is imperative that the FDA swiftly rectify this situation by implementing a transparent and expedited regulatory pathway that prioritizes access to scientifically validated, less harmful nicotine products,” she concluded.
The Consumer Choice Center’s concern was echoed by Philip Morris International, which in an e-mailed statement expressed the hope that the hearing would spur the FDA into action to fully embrace the tobacco harm reduction principles enshrined in the Tobacco Control Act.
“Today’s House Oversight hearing put a bright spotlight on the fact that the agency is failing to help millions of adult smokers access smoke-free options that are better alternatives to combustible cigarettes,” the company wrote. “More than 26 million premarket tobacco product applications have been submitted to the FDA for review, but the agency has authorized fewer than 50 of those applications, and none within the 180-day deadline set by Congress.
“FDA’s goal to strike ‘an appropriate balance between regulation and encouraging development of innovative tobacco products that may be less dangerous than cigarettes’ is far from the reality of its actions. To assist adult smokers’ transition away from cigarettes, the FDA must develop a fair, efficient and effective regulatory pathway to bring scientifically validated, less harmful products to market with the appropriate safeguards to ensure they do not appeal to youth.”

April 11, 2024
Consumer Group Says No to PMTA Registries

U.S. states must recognize the unintended consequences of passing laws requiring premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) registries for alternative nicotine products such as vaping devices, heaters, and nicotine pouches, according to the Consumer Choice Center, an organization claiming to represent consumers in more than 100 countries.
In the first months of 2024, more than a dozen bills have been introduced in U.S. states calling for a state-based registry for alternative nicotine products. Such legislation has already been passed in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Alabama.
“While the intention behind these bills is to manage consumer access to unregulated nicotine products on the illicit market, the reality is that the FDA is not approving enough new devices and products to create a competitive, regulated marketplace that meets consumer demand,” said Elizabeth Hicks, U.S. affairs analyst at the Consumer Choice Center.
While 26 million nicotine alternative products submitted PMTAs to the Food and Drug Administration, only 23 have been approved. Of those 23 approved products, 12 are tobacco-flavored e-liquid refills.
“The FDA is hiding the ball here on product approvals and how few new products are actually coming to market. If the goal is to improve public health across the country, then consumers deserve to choose from a variety of different nicotine alternatives,” said Hicks.
The Consumer Choice Centers urges state legislatures to refrain from adding to counterproductive federal policies and instead advance tobacco harm reduction through a competitive marketplace.

March 12, 2024