NASADAD releases overview of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS)

National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD) is pleased to announce the release of an Overview of and Recommendations Regarding Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS).

The overview:

• Offers background on e-cigarettes and reviews the scope of the problem, especially among youth;
• Outlines federal actions over the past several years, including recent steps to raise the minimum age of legal tobacco product access to 21;
• Describes the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) role in regulating the sale of tobacco products;
• Describes the State alcohol & drug agencies’ role in tobacco control, with a particular focus on Synar; and
• Offers NASADAD’s position and recommendations related to ENDS.                                          

The Association’s position and recommendations, as outlined in the document, are:

• NASADAD appreciates HHS’s actions to reduce youth use of e-cigarettes, including the Surgeon General’s Advisory on E-Cigarette Use Among Youth.
• NASADAD is supportive of recent federal efforts to raise the minimum age of legal tobacco product purchase to 21 across the United States.
• With 20% of youth using e-cigarettes, there should be further efforts to bolster enforcement of age limits. The federal government should provide funds to States to help with these enforcement efforts.
• NASADAD recognizes that while there are many FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) for those 18 and older, none—aside from varenicline (Chantix)—are approved for sale to youth.
• Although NRT products are being used off-label by some clinicians in order to help youth clients with tobacco cessation, more resources must be invested to hasten research on the appropriate treatment protocol for cessation in individuals under the age of 18.
• We recognize that there are counterfeit flavored nicotine products on the market that may have inaccurate label information, new products such as “heat-not-burn” tobacco devices that are popular in other countries, and a variety of devices that are utilized to ingest substances such as marijuana. These and other issues deserve thorough examination as Congress and the Administration consider further action.