FDA wants to regulate e-cigarettes, a rural favorite

The federal government is proposing regulations for e-cigarettes that "would force manufacturers to curb sales to minors, stop handing out free samples, place health warning labels on their products and disclose the ingredients," Brady Dennis reports for The Washington Post. "Makers of e-cigarettes also would be banned from making health-related claims without scientific evidence." (Post graphic)

While smoking rates have declined in some wealthy areas, smoking rates have remained stable or even risen in poor and working class rural counties. Rural teens' e-cigarette use has also risen in recent years.

The proposal by the Food and Drug Administration "stops short of broader restrictions sought by many­ ­tobacco-control advocates," Dennis writes. "Regulators at this point are not seeking to halt online sales of e-cigarettes, curb television advertising, or ban the use of flavorings such as watermelon, grape soda and piña colada — all tactics that critics say are aimed at attracting young smokers and that have been banned for traditional cigarettes. Those restrictions might come eventually, FDA officials said, but not before more rigorous research can establish a scientific basis for tougher rules." (Read more)