FDA Bans Candy and Fruit-Flavored Cigarettes; More Tobacco Rules On the Way

The Food and Drug Administration is wasting no time in flexing its new muscle and cracking down on tobacco products.

Given the authority to regulate tobacco products and advertising by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act which became law in June, the FDA today announced a ban on cigarettes with fruit, candy, or clove flavors.

FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. said flavored cigarettes are aimed at getting children and younger smokers to pick up the habit, which remains a leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Studies have shown that 17-year-old smokers are three times as likely to use flavored cigarettes compared to older smokers over 25, the FDA said.

“Almost 90 percent of adult smokers start smoking as teenagers. These flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers,” said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. “The FDA will utilize regulatory authority to reduce the burden of illness and death caused by tobacco products to enhance our Nation’s public health.”

And there likely are more regulations to come. The FDA is now considering restricting the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco products other than cigarettes, such as chewing tobacco, officials said.

Flavored Cigarette Ban Effective Today

Effective today, any company who continues to produce, ship, or sell candy or fruit-flavored cigarettes will be subject to FDA enforcement actions, including fines, the FDA warned.

The FDA also is stepping up efforts to inform parents about the dangers of flavored tobacco products. The agency has released an advisory to parents about the risks of the products when used by teens, who may be led to believe the flavored products are not as dangerous or addictive as non-flavored tobacco products.

“Youth are twice as likely to report seeing advertising for these flavored products as adults are,” said Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, a pediatrician and the FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner. “Marketing campaigns for products with sweet candy and fruit flavors can mislead young people into thinking that these products are less addictive and less harmful.”

The ban states “… a cigarette or any of its component parts (including the tobacco, filter, or paper) shall not contain, as a constituent (including a smoke constituent) or additive, an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or coffee, that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke.”

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