California restricts electronic cigarette marketing due to cancer risk

California restricts electronic cigarette marketing due to cancer risk

Electronic cigarette distributor Smoking Everywhere has signed a settlement with the state of California to limit its marketing efforts aimed at minors and claims that their products are healthier tobacco alternatives, according to announcement made on Friday by State Attorney General Jerry Brown.

The deal follows a statement made by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that said that it will strictly regulate the sale and use of e-cigarettes.

E-cigarettes look like ordinary cigarettes but have batteries on them to vaporize a solution inside cartridges which comes in different flavors that allegedly target young customers.

Smoking Everywhere, which imports its products from China, and a few other e-cigarette distributors also claim that their products are safer alternatives to tobacco since they do not contain tar and do not produce smoke.

U.S. health authorities, particularly the FDA however, said that electronic cigarettes contain plenty of other harmful chemicals such as nicotine and carcinogenic substances. Antifreeze ingredient diethylene glycol, a known poison, has also been found in at least one brand.

The regulator already issued warning letters to five companies of e-cigarettes in October to drop unsupported claims that their products are intended to quit smoking as these claims are prohibited under federal law.

The settlement says that Smoking Everywhere must wait for the FDA’s approval before advertising claims that their products do not contain tobacco, carcinogens, and produce second-hand smoke.

E-cigarettes must also come with labels saying that they contain nicotine which can cause birth defects and reproductive system damage.

The restrictions apply to all advertising done in the state of California as well as on the Internet.

Posted by George Daniels on Wednesday November 03 2010, 12:40 PM EDT. Ref: Reuter. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0