For the first time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized a vaping device, the Vuse Solo e-cigarette. The agency believes that the product, from parent company R.J. Reynolds, can help smokers quit the use of traditional cigarettes. Vuse is the second most popular vaping brand in the U.S. It is responsible for nearly a third of all retail sales and only sells fewer products than JUUL.
Vuse Solo E-Cigarette
The FDA’s recent authorization applies to the Vuse Solo e-cigarette and its tobacco-flavored nicotine cartridges. Released in 2013, Vuse Solo is a rechargeable device that looks like a traditional cigarette. The agency noted that it rejected 10 requests from the company for other flavored products. It is still reviewing the request to sell a menthol-flavored nicotine cartridge.
Data reported by the company shows that the product helps smokers significantly reduce their exposure to dangerous chemicals found in cigarettes. Although the product is now legally sold in the U.S., the FDA stresses that they are not safe nor “FDA-approved.” Additionally, the agency discourages non-smokers from using them.
Current FDA Review
For over a decade, e-cigarettes have been sold in the United States with little government research or oversight. Currently, the FDA is in the midst of a review of vaping products to determine what should be allowed to remain on the shelves. The organization has already rejected applications for more than a million e-cigs and related products, primarily due to the potential appeal to youth. However, regulators have delayed decision-making for most major vaping companies, including JUUL.
“Today’s authorizations are an important step toward ensuring all new tobacco products undergo the FDA’s robust, scientific premarket evaluation,” said Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA’s tobacco center, in a statement. “The manufacturer’s data demonstrates its tobacco-flavored products could benefit addicted adult smokers who switch to these products — either completely or with a significant reduction in cigarette consumption.”
For more information about the investigation into e-cigarettes, contact us today.
Additional Reading:
FDA Requests More Time to Determine Ruling About E-Cigarettes
FDA Removes 55,000 Flavored Vaping Products From Market
JUUL Labs Faces “Substantive Scientific Review” from the FDA
Tracy Everhart
Tracy Everhart is the Editor for Drug Law Journal. A highly-trained and certified medical professional, Tracy is also an accomplished medical writer. After spending years on the front lines of the medical profession, Tracy now devotes her expertise and skills to researching and reporting on new drugs and devices that enter the market, as well as their side-effects and the real-life stories involved. Prior to joining Drug Law Journal, Tracy wrote for benchmark online healthcare resources focused on families and, in particular, women’s health issues. Tracy holds post-graduate degrees from both the American College of Healthcare Sciences and the Yale School of Nursing. She is also a graduate of both Hampshire College, where she studied microbiology and the University of South Carolina school of nursing.