American Lung Association Responds to FTC Plan to Track E-Cigarette Sales, Marketing Activities

Today the Federal Trade Commission announced plans to begin to track the U.S. sales and marketing of electronic cigarettes, more commonly known as e-cigarettes. The agency proposes to issue information requests to e-cigarette marketers and use the information as a basis for a report on the sales, marketing activities and expenditures in this new and complex industry. In response, Harold P. Wimmer, National President and CEO of the American Lung Association, issued the following statement:

 “The American Lung Association welcomes today’s announcement from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that it plans to start collecting data on the marketing and sales of e-cigarettes in the United States. This announcement is timely and necessary: earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that e-cigarette use among youth has tripled in just one year. E-cigarettes remain unregulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the industry continues to rip tactics from the tobacco industry’s playbook to target kids – including the use of celebrity spokespeople, candy- and fruit-flavored e-cigarettes and unproven health claims.

“The American Lung Association recognizes how important the FTC’s annual reports on cigarette and smokeless tobacco marketing have been in counteracting those industries’ predatory marketing to kids. Similar information on e-cigarette marketing and sales would be invaluable to allow the public health community to counteract the marketing of e-cigarettes to kids. 

“The American Lung Association thanks Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) for her championship of this initiative as well as Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and former Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) for their continued leadership in this area and so many others as they act to protect the health of our nation’s youth.”