The AMA adopted new policy at the 2014 AMA Annual Meeting opposing the sales and marketing of electronic cigarettes and nicotine delivery products to minors.
The new policy extends AMA’s existing policy, adopted in 2010, that calls for all e-cigarettes to be subject to the same regulations and oversight that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) applies to tobacco and nicotine products.
The policy also supports product requirements for e-cigarettes and nicotine delivery systems, including:
- Disclosures regarding design, content and emissions
- Child-proof and tamper-proof packaging and design
- Enhanced product labeling
- Restrictions related to flavors that appeal to minors
- Prohibition of unsupported marketing claims as a tobacco cessation tool
Use of e-cigarettes by students in U.S. middle schools and high schools more than doubled from 3.3 percent in 2011 to 6.8 percent in 2012, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The AMA supports an FDA proposal to fill the gap in federal regulations on purchasing, labeling, packaging and advertising of electronic cigarettes,” incoming AMA President Robert M. Wah, MD, said in a news release. “The new policy will guide the AMA’s future efforts to strongly encourage the proposed FDA regulation as a notable and important step to improve public health and deter the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors.”
