美國食品與藥品管理局終于要對電子煙行業(yè)的無序增長出手了。

美國食品與藥品管理局的高級官員日前對CNBC和《華盛頓郵報》表示，該局局長斯科特·戈特利布預(yù)計(jì)本周將對大多數(shù)口味的電子煙頒布禁令，以遏制電子煙在青少年中的風(fēng)靡程度。

來自美國政府的初步數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2018年，美國吸食電子煙的高中生和初中生的人數(shù)分別增長了77%和50%。也就是說，在2018年年初，美國已經(jīng)有350萬名未成年人在吸食電子煙。

雖然電子煙對身體的傷害不如煙草那樣大，但研究表示，很多電子煙使用者最終會對尼古丁上癮，其中的有些人就會去吸食普通香煙，而長期吸煙者半數(shù)都會因?yàn)橛晌鼰煻l(fā)的相關(guān)疾病死亡。此外，電子煙對健康的長期影響目前也是未知的。

美國食品與藥品管理局計(jì)劃在所有便利店和加油站禁售帶香味的煙彈式電子煙。這些商品將僅能在電子煙和煙草商店內(nèi)出售，因?yàn)檫@些商店能更好地執(zhí)行年齡限令。

美國食品與藥品管理局還打算限制電子煙的網(wǎng)上銷售，直至電子煙制造商能較好地執(zhí)行該局的年齡驗(yàn)證規(guī)定。另外，美國食品與藥品管理局還計(jì)劃禁止在普通香煙中添加薄荷醇，不過這肯定會遭到煙草行業(yè)的抵制。這些禁令可能需要幾周甚至幾個月的時間才能實(shí)施。

今年9月，美國食品與藥品管理局要求Juul、英美煙草集團(tuán)的Vuse、奧馳亞集團(tuán)的MarkTen、帝國品牌的Blu E-cigs和日本煙草的Logic等五個電子煙品牌在上周日前提交避免未成年人使用電子煙的方案。該局局長斯科特·戈特利布還表示，食品與藥品管理局將于11月中旬公布自己的方案。

奧馳亞集團(tuán)表示，在食品與藥品管理局對該公司產(chǎn)品進(jìn)行審核和批準(zhǔn)前，該公司將下架旗下的全部煙彈式電子煙產(chǎn)品，并停售除薄荷和煙草味之外的所有口味的產(chǎn)品。

美國食品與藥品管理局的禁令將不包括薄荷味的電子煙，也就是說，消費(fèi)者仍然能在便利店和加油站買到薄荷味的電子煙，直到薄荷味普通香煙在市場上全部下架。這是因?yàn)檎賳T們擔(dān)心，下架薄荷味電子煙會使促使消費(fèi)者轉(zhuǎn)而購買傳統(tǒng)的薄荷香煙。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：樸成奎

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is pushing back against the unchecked growth of the e-cigarette industry.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb is expected this week to announce bans on most flavored e-cigarettes in an attempt to curb “epidemic” levels of teen e-cigarette use, senior FDA officials told CNBC and the Washington Post.

Preliminary government data showed ?e-cigarette use rose 77% among high schoolers and nearly 50% among middle schoolers in 2018, meaning that 3.5 million minors were vaping in early 2018.

While vaping itself is less harmful than tobacco smoking, research shows many ?e-cigarette users are likely to develop nicotine addictions and some will probably end up on regular cigarettes, a product that kills half of its long-term users. Plus, the long-term health effects of vaping are unknown.

The agency plans to prohibit sales of flavored cartridge-based e-cigarettes in convenience stores and gas stations. Instead, they will only be sold in vape and tobacco shops, which enforce age restrictions better.

The FDA also plans to restrict online sales until manufacturers follow FDA-mandated guidelines for age verification. Gottlieb is also expected to propose banning menthol in regular cigarettes, which is sure to get pushback from the tobacco industry. The bans would likely take weeks, if not months, to implement.

In September, Gottlieb gave five e-cigarette manufacturers — Juul, British American Tobacco’s Vuse, Altria’s MarkTen, Imperial Brands’ Blu E-cigs and Japan Tobacco’s Logic — until last Sunday to submit proposals on how to combat youth e-cigarette use. He has said the FDA will share its own plan in mid-November.

Altria has already said it will remove its MarkTen pod-based products and will stop selling all flavors except for menthol or tobacco in its products until the FDA reviews and approves them.

The FDA’s flavor restrictions would exclude menthol, meaning menthol and mint vape products would still be allowed to be sold in convenience stores and gas stations — until the FDA removes menthol cigarettes from the market. Officials worry that removing menthol e-cigarettes would drive consumers to traditional menthol cigarettes.