FDA plan to regulate e-cigarettes welcomed at Kan. poison control center

By Bryan Thompson
Kansas Public Radio

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The announcement by the Food and Drug Administration that it will regulate a host of new tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, was welcome news to the director of the poison control center at the University of Kansas Hospital.

Tama Sawyer, the director of the KU center, said rising sales of e-cigarettes appear to have caused a sharp increase in the number of children needing treatment for nicotine poisoning. She said 34 children were treated for nicotine poisoning at the KU Center in 2012. The number increased to 45 last year and is on pace to exceed that this year, she said.

E-cigarettes contain varying amounts of liquid nicotine. Some come in bright colors and flavors that are enticing to children, Sawyer said.

“You may have a pink liquid that smells like cherry and you have a child not old enough to understand that this isn’t something cherry,” she said, noting that the lack of child-proof caps on the nicotine bottles increase the danger. “The potential for a serious poisoning is certainly there.”

Nicotine poisoning can cause a dangerous fluctuation in a person’s heart rate and blood pressure.

Under the proposed FDA rule, makers of e-cigarettes would have to register with the FDA and disclose the ingredients in their products. The regulations also would prohibit e-cigarette companies from distributing free samples or from marketing them as healthier alternatives to regular cigarettes.

Because e-cigarettes don’t contain tar and produce a liquid vapor instead of smoke, some claim they are less harmful. But many public health officials say more research is needed on whether their high nicotine levels could lead users – particularly teens – to eventually take up smoking.

Kathleen Sebelius, the outgoing secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, called the proposed rule “the latest step in our efforts to make the next generation tobacco-free.”

The American Lung Association is urging the FDA to add a ban on the sale of candy- and fruit-flavored tobacco products to the regulations, which will be available for public comment for 75 days.