Really? Are e-cigarettes "Totally Unregulated" in the U.S.?

[Berylanna]

Yesterday an anti- testifying in Contra Costa county said "Electronic Cigarettes are TOTALLY unregulated!"

I hear this a lot, even from family members on my side.

Is that true? Or has the FDA convinced people that they are the only regulating body in the U.S.? I know I've read that in Europe, normal regulations covering consumer products cover e-cigs. They have to be safe for their intended use (otherwise kitchen knives, cleaning products, and pesticides would be banned.)

Not that we could have refuted him, since nobody got to speak after him, but we need to know if this is true, not because I think regulations should cover everything, but because I think one cause of over-regulation is actually turf wars between different groups that EACH want to regulate something, and needs to be exposed.

 

[Elnroth]

Seeing as propylene glycol, flavorings, and nicotine are all related ny the FDA, claiming ecigs are totally unregulated is a blatant lie

 

[Thompson]

Depends on what you mean by regulated.

Some states / counties have regulations but mostly they are public smoking restriction applied to ecigs.

The industry is kind of self-regulating in the sense vendors won't sell to under 18s. But some states do require this (not all or federal).

Faxed in on the Mojo Wire

 

[kristin]

As a tobacco product, they are regulated by the FDA. The agency just hasn't issued any rules yet. However, as Elnroth pointed out, all of the ingredients and some of the components in e-cigarettes are regulated by the FDA, OSHA, DOT and EPA. UL certification is not a requirement.

Because all of the ingredients put into e-cigarette liquid are well regulated at the manufacturing level before they are mixed together by the e-cigarette companies, the claim that they are "totally unregulated" is untrue. What the FDA will be issuing are guidelines on how these already regulated ingredients can be mixed, handled, labeled and advertised.

 

[Berylanna]

As a tobacco product, they are regulated by the FDA. The agency just hasn't issued any rules yet. However, as Elnroth pointed out, all of the ingredients and some of the components in e-cigarettes are regulated by the FDA, OSHA, DOT and EPA. UL certification is not a requirement.

Because all of the ingredients put into e-cigarette liquid are well regulated at the manufacturing level before they are mixed together by the e-cigarette companies, the claim that they are "totally unregulated" is untrue. What the FDA will be issuing are guidelines on how these already regulated ingredients can be mixed, handled, labeled and advertised.

Does the U.S. differ from Europe in regulations for CONSUMER products? Until (or unless) the FDA "deems" that is what ecigs are. Just because they are not regulated BY THE FDA does not mean they are not regulated. Unless there are no regulations for consumer products in the U.S.

Who arranges recalls of baby cribs?

 

[Petrodus]

As a tobacco product, they are regulated by the FDA. The agency just hasn't issued any rules yet. However, as Elnroth pointed out, all of the ingredients and some of the components in e-cigarettes are regulated by the FDA, OSHA, DOT and EPA. UL certification is not a requirement.

Because all of the ingredients put into e-cigarette liquid are well regulated at the manufacturing level before they are mixed together by the e-cigarette companies, the claim that they are "totally unregulated" is untrue. What the FDA will be issuing are guidelines on how these already regulated ingredients can be mixed, handled, labeled and advertised.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to predict
what the FDA will have on its list of demon regulations.

They will, Of Course, sell (AKA Lie) the regulations as necessary to protect the public
when we all know who they are really protecting.

 

[kristin]

Does the U.S. differ from Europe in regulations for CONSUMER products? Until (or unless) the FDA "deems" that is what ecigs are. Just because they are not regulated BY THE FDA does not mean they are not regulated. Unless there are no regulations for consumer products in the U.S.

Who arranges recalls of baby cribs?

Well, that's one of the reasons our taxes are so high and it's so hard to start a business in this country. There is a lot of crossover of regulations and numerous regulatory agencies. You have OSHA, EPA, DOT, FDA, USDA, FCC, etc. and many products have to follow regulations issued by several agencies. In terms of e-cigarette companies, they could find themselves affected by all of above.

Baby crib recalls would be issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which also regulates about 15,000 specific products. It does not regulate products under the jurisdiction of other agencies. For example, hospital cribs are regulated by the FDA. The FDA has been given jurisdiction over tobacco and nicotine products by an act of Congress.

 

[Berylanna]

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to predict
what the FDA will have on its list of demon regulations.

They will, Of Course, sell (AKA Lie) the regulations as necessary to protect the public
when we all know who they are really protecting.

Republicans should create cartoons of the FDA taking notes from demons to get their regulations.

Democrats should create cartoons of the FDA meditating upside-down on the ceiling, stethoscopes hanging down towards the ground, eyes closed, chanting "Deem......deem......deem..." with a blissed-out looking guru as their leader.

But I was actually asking this question for BEFORE then, because everybody in California (including my more-conservative-than-me relatives) seems to think "are totally unregulated" is a fatal flaw needing no explanation. I can't fix that by April 17 so I want a counter-argument that is actually true. Like... Baby cribs. I'm trying to think of something that doesn't have its own separate laws so I can't use lead in crayons or seat belts in cars for examples. Something like who could legally order a recall of floor wax if it tended to fly up through the roof and go through neighbors' windows by itself?

 

[Whosback]

Well seeing as how I have read a list of a few American venders that the FDA hit for manufacturing standards, it's suggestive that some regulation is in place.

Sadly I saw no detail on what these were, and some violations are not as bad as others.
Example : a restaurant needs to have a wall between a bathroom door and the kitchen. Now this makes sense, but if you convert a home into a restaurant and did not know this it would hardly be malicious carelessness.

This also suggest these "violations" may have just been a list generated as scare tactic, like the 2009 detail free findings.