The e-cigarette and cigar industries have ramped up efforts to block federal rules on their products, reports The New York Times.
The industries, via high-profile lobbyists and influential congressional allies, are targeting a Food and Drug Administration Deeming Rule that was finalized in May. It extends the FDA's authority to all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, cigars, hookah tobacco and pipe tobacco, among others.
The FDA said the rule helps implement the bipartisan Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 and allows the FDA to restrict the sale of these tobacco products to minors nationwide.
But tobacco-aligned companies have argued the rule could force a large share of e-cigarette companies out of business, according to the article.
FDA officials acknowledge that e-cigarettes are possibly not as harmful than cigarettes, reports The New York Times. However, they feel they must look at whether e-cigarettes or the liquid nicotine juices might contain toxic chemicals like diethylene glycol, an ingredient also used in antifreeze, as well as the safety of the e-cigarette devices, the report states.
The recent lobbying effort has been led by tobacco company Altria Group. A bill based on draft legislation from Altria has 71 co-sponsors and is still pending in the House, according to the article. The bill, the report states, would eliminate the new requirement that most e-cigarettes already on sale in the United States be examined retroactively to determine if they are "appropriate for the protection of public health."
For more on this story and the tobacco debate, read Eric Lipton's full report in The New York Times.
More articles on population health:
Moderate drinking holds little impact on fertility, study finds
White House gives states $53M to fight opioid abuse, calls for more
UC Davis to launch first state-funded gun violence research center