Who’s keeping an eye on the vaping industry? Turns out nobody, really
As Washington state and the rest of the nation confront an outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses, attention is being focused on who is in charge of regulating the safety of e-cigarettes and other vaping products.
The answer is hardly anyone.
“There are few federal or state regulations for these products,” according to the state Department of Health.
The state Liquor and Cannabis Board regulates the production and sale of cannabis, including vapes that contain THC, but its authority over retailers of non-cannabis vape products is limited to issuing licenses and checking whether stores sell vapes to minors.
The Department of Health also has a limited regulatory role, but it has power in the wake of a crisis if officials determine that a vapor product may be harmful to human health.
“If we’re able to identify some substance that is causing the lung injury, the Secretary of Health would have the authority to pull those products off the shelf,” said Dr. Kathy Lofy, the state health officer and chief science officer.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is in charge of regulating e-cigarettes and other vaping devices, but The New York Times reported recently that the agency has not vetted the vast majority of vaping products or flavored liquids for safety.
In the final year of the Obama administration, federal officials rejected a proposal to ban flavored vaping products after heavy lobbying by the tobacco industry. President Trump’s FDA commissioner in 2017 extended the deadline by four years for vaping companies to prove that the public health benefits of their products outweighed the risks. A judge has overturned that decision, ordering the companies to apply for approval by next May.
Since April, Washington has had 12 cases of severe lung illness linked to the use of vaping products, including six in King County, two in Snohomish County and one in Pierce County. Half of them involved people between the ages of 20 to 39.
Vaping devices — purchased as JUULs, e-cigarettes, e-cigs, vapes, e-hookahs, vape pens, mods, tanks or electronic nicotine delivery systems — can contain nicotine, cannabis or other substances such as flavoring agents and chemicals.
Two federal agencies are conducting a multi-state investigation into the outbreak of severe lung disease associated with the use of vaping devices and e-cigarette products. There are 1,479 lung injury cases reported from all states, except for Alaska, and 33 deaths in 24 states, including two each in Oregon and Montana. The median age of deceased patients was 44 years and ranged from 17 to 75 years.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the specific causes of the lung injuries are not known yet, but most of the samples tested by the FDA contain THC — the psychoactive compound of cannabis that produces the “high” — and most patients report a history of using THC-containing products.
“The latest national and state findings suggest products containing THC, particularly those obtained off the street or from other informal sources (e.g. friends, family members, illicit dealers), are linked to most of the cases and play a major role in the outbreak,” the CDC said on its website.
Of the 12 severe lung illness cases involving vaping products in Washington, two involved THC only, four nicotine only, two were both THC and nicotine, and four are unknown, according to the Department of Health.
An executive order signed by Gov. Jay Inslee last month requested the state Board of Health to ban flavored vaping products. The board approved the 120-day emergency rule on Oct. 9 and it took effect the following day.
The governor’s executive order also directed the health department, along with the liquor and cannabis board, to draft legislation for the 2020 session to permanently ban flavored vaping products, require disclosure of ingredients in vaping products and clarify the state’s authority in responding to situations when there’s harm or risk to the public but the specific cause has not been determined.
“We need to warn the public that no federal government or state government or local government has tested these products to give you any assurance that they’re safe,” Inslee said. “If I had a loved one, I would tell them right now, `You are just playing dice with your lungs’ by using these products.”
The New York Times reported earlier this month that the federal government largely has ignored the explosion in people vaping THC, which came as states legalized either recreational cannabis or its medicinal use. Cannabis remains illegal on the federal level. In 2012, Initiative 502 in Washington legalized the purchase and use of marijuana in limited circumstances for those 21 and older.
Based on Inslee’s executive order, the liquor and cannabis board has distributed a form to producers and processors of THC vaping products so they can disclose all compounds including ingredients, solvents and additives, said agency spokesman Brian E. Smith.
State Rep. Gerry Pollet, a Seattle Democrat, is working on legislation that the House will consider next year. He has tried for four years to place sweeping regulations on the vaping industry, but has met heavy opposition from the companies and those who say they have used vaping to quit smoking.
Pollet, an attorney who also teaches in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, said the state has to fill the regulatory vacuum created by the federal government’s inaction.
“Waiting for the FDA to act is just going to allow our kids to be addicted to nicotine by e-cigarettes and vapor products,” he said.
In addition to making the ban on vape flavors and disclosure of ingredients permanent, Pollet said the bill also is expected to outlaw nicotine strength of vapor products over 2 per cent. When JUUL was introduced in 2015, its pods contained 5 percent of nicotine strength, according to the Truth Initiative, a nonprofit anti-tobacco group.
Reached for comment, FDA spokesman Jeremy Kahn said the agency is committed to keeping all tobacco products out of the hands of youths.
“We share the belief that all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, should never be marketed to, sold to, or used by kids — and we need to make every effort to prevent kids from getting hooked on nicotine. The companies making these products, the retailers selling them, and the online venues that help to fuel the teen popularity of, and access to, these products must redouble efforts to follow the law and not sell or market to kids,” Kahn said.
