Health charities sue FDA over extended deeming deadlines

Public health groups have brought a suit against the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for extending deadlines for e-cigs and cigars on its controversial deeming regulations.

They argue that these extensions keep flavours on the market, attracting young people to the products and encouraging youth uptake.

The suit was brought by a who’s who of tobacco control organisations, including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Truth Initiative, and American Academy of Pediatrics.

They claim the FDA has offered “no meaningful justification for ripping a hole in the statutory framework by exempting, for more than half a decade, newly deemed products from premarket review – review FDA previously described as ‘central’ to the regulatory scheme Congress enacted for tobacco products.”