Close the disposable e-cigarette loophole

This opinion column was submitted by Elliot Malin, a public policy professional who has worked to further the cause of preventing underage tobacco use in the Nevada Legislature.

While youth vaping has decreased since 2019, Kelli Goatley-Seals, president of Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition, reminds us that “Youth vaping has skyrocketed in Nevada. There has been a more than 45% increase (between 2017-2019) in teens reporting they have vaped in the last thirty days. In certain parts of Nevada, the vaping prevalence rates are above 36%.” 

Unfortunately, during President Trump’s time in office, the Food and Drug Administration released guidance detailing the agency’s enforcement priorities relating to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products. Among other things, the guidance banned flavored, cartridge-based ENDS products. This created a loophole for a new kind of product that is now being used in great numbers by America’s youth: disposable e-cigarettes.

The actions were designed to “combat the troubling epidemic of youth e-cigarette use” while “maintaining e-cigarettes as a potential off-ramp for adults using combustible tobacco.” While I agree with the end goal to help adult smokers transition away from cigarettes to a less risky form of nicotine delivery, and ultimately away from nicotine altogether, the loophole created by the Trump administration is problematic. By excluding disposable products from its definition of “cartridge-based ENDS products,” the FDA’s flavor restrictions do not apply to disposable e-cigarette products, which have remained on the market. Many of these disposable e-cigarettes, popular among Nevada’s youth, are being manufactured by unregulated foreign producers, who uses ingredients that include dangerous drugs and carcinogens.

Many Nevada corner convenience stores display countless disposable e-cigarette products in attractive flavors such as cinnamon roll, circus cotton candy and mint chocolate selling at an affordable price, especially for children. These disposable e-cigarettes also highlight their “sleek design” and promise their disposable e-cigarette “can be easily carried in your pocket.”

The attractive flavors, the modest cost, and the ability to conceal disposable e-cigarettes are of great appeal to our youth. Luckily for parents and children, the current administration can help by directing the FDA to revise the guidance by deleting relevant footnotes, amending the guidance to prioritize enforcement to include “disposable ENDS products” and ensuring guidance applies to synthetic nicotine. But the clock is ticking.

I urge the administration to close the loophole on disposable e-cigarettes, to protect Nevada’s children and end the epidemic of disposable e-cigarettes across our country.

Elliot Malin is a public policy professional who has worked to further the cause of preventing underage tobacco use in the Nevada Legislature.

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