More than two years after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a rule to extend its authority to cover unregulated tobacco products, a final regulation has been released. The FDA now has control over all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, cigars, hookah tobacco and pipe tobacco, and will ban sales of these products to anyone under 18 years of age. The FDA will also “evaluate important factors such as ingredients, product design and health risks, as well as their appeal to youth and non-users” for all products in these categories commercially marketed after Feb. 15, 2007. Until now, there was no federal oversight of the manufacture, distribution or marketing of e-cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products, and no restrictions in place to protect public health against the risks of these products. “Marketing tobacco products, especially e-cigarettes, to children would slow the progress we’ve made in reducing heart disease brought about by the decline of smoking in the U.S.,” said ACC President-Elect Mary Norine Walsh, MD, FACC. “The FDA’s decision to restrict the sale of all tobacco products is a significant step forward.” Read more.