Global Action is pleased to see the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent authorization of Juul’s tobacco and menthol flavored e-cigarettes to provide adults who smoke with options to help them quit or reduce their risks. By authorizing alternative reduced risk products, this decision furthers our charitable mission to end combustible tobacco use—the leading preventable cause of death globally.
Global Action believes that all youth should be protected from nicotine addiction and should not have access to e-cigarettes or other products containing nicotine. A robust, science-backed regulatory and enforcement system is critical to ensure those who have never used nicotine do not begin, and that all adults who smoke receive evidence-based cessation education about the continuum of risk.
Adults who smoke and switch entirely to reduced-risk nicotine products, including e-cigarettes, can lower their long-term health risks. In fact, this evidence-based information was essential in the FDA’s authorization of Juul’s e-cigarettes, which it determined were appropriate for the protection of public health. We believe adults who smoke deserve access to alternative methods of quitting and reducing their risks and understand that each person’s journey to stop smoking is unique.
The above can be attributed to Katherine Ellen Foley, Director of Media at Global Action to End Smoking.