US: Don''t Let Big Tobacco Crush E-Cigarettes By Oliver Kershaw

Source from:  Edition.cnn.com 10/28/2014

Fifty years ago, on January 11, 1964, U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry issued a landmark report on the negative health risks caused by smoking tobacco. But you wouldn't know those risks by looking at some of these prominent advertisements of the 20th century. Here, actor and future U.S. President Ronald Reagan is seen in a 1950s ad for Chesterfield cigarettes.

A billboard advertises Marlboro cigarettes. The rugged "Marlboro Man" was a staple of the brand's marketing.

The FDA is considering how best to regulate electronic cigarettes as tobacco products
Oliver Kershaw: FDA proposal will benefit Big Tobacco companies, and that's bad
He says if tobacco industry is given monopoly of e-cigarette products, public health will suffer

Kershaw: FDA should let e-cigarette industry innovate to save tobacco smokers' lives

Editor's note: Oliver Kershaw is the founder and CEO of E-cigarette Forum. He is also a co-founder of Vaping.com and the E-Cigarette Summit, which aims to promote open, scientific debates about electronic cigarettes and related technologies. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering how to best regulate electronic cigarettes as tobacco products. While some regulation is needed, the current proposal entails a huge paperwork burden that will create a barrier to entry into the market for all but the biggest players -- namely, Big Tobacco.

Specifically, the FDA has indicated that it may require e-cigarette manufacturers to complete a long paperwork process before it will consider a product for approval.

Many industry watchers believe that only very large manufacturers (i.e., Big Tobacco companies) would have the financial resources to meet the requirements, which could demand an estimated 5,000 hours per application, with every product combination requiring a new application. According to the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association, only 25 products among thousands currently available would eventually be licensed.

The tobacco industry will then be able to buy the small e-cigarette makers that are unable to meet the FDA's requirements.

Big Tobacco will then get to decide which products are sold such that it can manage its own transition from cigarettes to e-cigarettes, or end e-cigarettes as a product category entirely, whichever better serves its financial interests.

Oliver KershawIn other words, the tobacco industry will be given a monopoly over the first new product to come to market that genuinely stands a chance of disrupting the business of selling smoked tobacco.

Needless to say, the tobacco industry's primary concern is not the health interests of the public.

The World Health Organization has assessed that "effective tobacco control and the commercial success of the tobacco industry are fundamentally incompatible ... accordingly, the tobacco industry can be expected to seek to avoid, prevent, weaken and delay effective policies and programs, which are against its interests." Enditem