CHICAGO (Reuters) – The US Food and Drug Administration sent warnings to five makers of electronic cigarettes for marketing them illegally as stop-smoking aids and said yesterday it intends to regulate the products as drugs.
The move is the latest attempt by the FDA to assert its jurisdiction over electronic or e-cigarettes, battery-powered devices that allow users to inhale a vaporized liquid nicotine solution instead of tobacco smoke.
Michael Levy of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research told a news briefing the warnings were for violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, including making unsubstantiated claims and poor manufacturing practices.
Under the act, a company cannot claim that its drug can treat a disease, such as nicotine addiction, unless the drug’s safety and effectiveness have been proven.
