WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D, NY-17) has urged the US Food and Drug Administration to redouble its efforts to promptly remove illegal vaping products from the market.
Federal health officials announced that at least 193 people in 22 states, mostly teens and young adults, have been hospitalized with vaping related respiratory illnesses, and that to date, there has been at least one fatality.
With that information and a 78 percent increase in high schoolers using e-cigarettes between 2017 and 2018, Lowey urged the FDA to concentrate efforts on removing products that are easily hidden from parents and teachers in order to curb the e-cigarette epidemic and prevent students from getting hooked on nicotine.
The congresswoman pointed to UWELL Amulet Watch Style Pod System, which is designed to look “Apple-esque” and is easily concealable as a vaping device. Under federal law, new tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and other vaping devices, that are introduced or modified after the August 8, 2016, deeming date, cannot be marketed without approval from the FDA.
But, she noted that advertisements published on behalf of the UWELL product that were posted on YouTube in July 2018, repeatedly refer to the product as brand new. As a result, Lowey has called for aggressive enforcement and for the FDA to immediately remove the product from the market.
