The Food and Drug Administration is beginning to crack down on Juul and e-cigarette retailers. The F.D.A. stated that the use of electronic cigarettes has reached “an epidemic proportion” giving retailers only 60 days to prove they can keep their devices away from minors.
The retailers were told that if they were not able to stop the sales to minors that their products will be taken off the market. Civil and criminal charges were also talked about if companies allowed bulk sales through their websites. The agency is working on sending warning letters to 1,100 retailers some include Walgreens and Shell gas stations.
Federal law prohibits selling electronic cigarettes to anyone under 18. The F.D.A. commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, said that more than two million middle and high school students were regular users of e-cigarettes last year.
The original reason for creating e-cigarettes was for adults that wanted to quit smoking but still enjoyed their nicotine fix. But the teenage use of vapes has become concerning that regulators may have to stop the obtainability to keep from the hands of minors.
Children can develop addictions very easily. With the use of vapes, teenagers that are not already addicted to nicotine can develop the addiction. Keeping this information in mind, the F.D.A. is finally taking charge of regulating electronic cigarette retailers.
Lauren: Should this be a health story or a business story? Who is the audience? What might most readers want/need to know first?