AMA Calls for Ban on Vaping Products Not Approved by FDA

IN A NUTSHELL:

• More than 2,000 lung illnesses, 40+ deaths reported

• Call for study on tobacco use disorder

• Ban associated with non FDA-approved or prescription devices

Written by Ayan Monpara, MD

In the wake of the recent lung illness outbreak linked to more than 2,000 illnesses and more than 40 deaths across the country, the American Medical Association (AMA) called for a total ban on all e-cigarette and vaping products that do not meet Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval as cessation tools.

Physicians, residents, and medical students from across the country voted to adopt several policies:

• Urgently advocate for regulatory, legislative, and/or legal action at the federal and/or state levels to ban the sale and distribution of all e-cigarette and vaping products, with the exception of those approved by the FDA for tobacco cessation purposes and made available by prescription only;

• Advocate for research funding to study the safety and effectiveness of e-cigarette and vaping products for tobacco cessation purposes;

• Call for immediate and thorough study of the use of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment strategies for tobacco use disorder and nicotine dependence resulting from the use of non-combustible and combustible tobacco products in populations under the age of 18.

• Actively collaborate with health care professionals, particularly pharmacists and other health care team members, to persuade retail pharmacies to immediately cease sales of tobacco products;

• Advocate for diagnostic codes for e-cigarette and vaping associated illnesses, including pulmonary toxicity

Visit the AMA website to learn more about the organization’s work on these issues.