Lisa M. Madigan
David L. Applegate
John G. Mulroe
Flavors of vanilla, orange, chocolate, cherry and coffee conjure images of an ice cream shop.
They’re also varieties of electronic cigarettes.
And a group of government lawyers wants to keep them away from children.
In a letter to the Food and Drug Administration this month, 29 attorneys general, including Illinois’ Lisa M. Madigan, urged the FDA to strengthen its regulations of e-cigarettes by banning all flavors other than tobacco and menthol.
The 21 Democrats, seven Republicans and one independent also pressed the FDA to restrict e-cigarette marketing and include health warnings on e-cigarette packaging similar to those found on packages of combustible cigarettes.
In April, the FDA proposed initial regulations on the approximately $2 billion e-cigarette industry, which included banning sales to anyone under 18. Currently, 39 states, including Illinois, forbid e-cigarette sales to minors.
Following the FDA’s initial proposal, it opened a comment period during which anybody could submit feedback. By the Aug. 8 deadline, more than 70,000 people had responded.
If adopted, the suggestions from the attorneys general would lead to the FDA essentially regulating e-cigarettes the same as cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Locally, politicians are already headed in that direction.
The Chicago City Council passed an ordinance in January categorizing e-cigarettes as “tobacco products,” thus banning their use in restaurants, bars and other buildings.
On Sunday, Gov. Patrick J. Quinn signed a law requiring e-cigarettes to be sold behind the counter or in a sealed display case. It takes effect Jan. 1.
“If it has nicotine, put it behind the counter,” said Sen. John G. Mulroe, a Chicago Democrat who sponsored the bill. “The point is to make it less accessible. If it’s behind the counter, maybe kids won’t see it and won’t be as attracted to it.”
Requests for comment from several e-cigarette lobbying organizations — including the Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association, the Consumer Advocates for Smoke Free Alternatives Association, the Electronic Cigarette Industry Group and the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association — were not returned.
A Center for Disease Control and Prevention study last year found that the percentage of middle and high school students using e-cigarettes jumped from 4.7 percent in 2011 to 10 percent in 2012, totaling about 1.78 million students.
To try to reverse that trend, the attorneys general seek to prohibit e-cigarette advertisements on TV and the Internet.
“The FDA should act promptly to prevent the advertising and marketing tactics of the e-cigarette industry from initiating a new generation of youth into nicotine addiction,” the letter from the attorneys general says.
In a statement, Madigan said e-cigarette manufacturers and advertisers “are targeting young people with flashy marketing campaigns.
“We appreciate the FDA’s first step toward regulating e-cigarettes, but the agency must strengthen its proposal to make sure more young people do not become addicted to nicotine.”
The attorneys general also want the FDA to make health warnings on e-cigarette packaging more visible and compelling in order to prevent more children and teenagers from using them.
David L. Applegate — a partner at Williams, Montgomery & John Ltd. who often writes and speaks in support of individual liberties — said “it’s pretty clear the direction we’re headed” is more government regulation of e-cigarettes.
“I’m fairly confident that with the support of 30 or so state attorneys general, the FDA will implement these new regulations,” he said.
Such regulations, Applegate said, would also follow a growing public consensus on the detrimental effects of nicotine use.
“I think it is a societal movement and perception that nicotine is bad for you, and so anything with nicotine should be controlled and discouraged,” Applegate said. “Nobody thinks cigarettes are good for you, so the popular perception seems to be that e-cigarettes are also bad for you.”
Some people view e-cigarettes as beneficial because they don’t contain tar, as conventional cigarettes do. Others consider e-cigarettes a gateway to other tobacco products.
Either way, Applegate said, both sides of the debate “recognize there is not enough data on (e-cigarettes). Even the FDA says we really don’t have full data on this yet.”