Capsules: Crackdown on e-cigarette by USFDA

Amid the epidemic levels of youth use of e-cigarettes and the popularity of certain products among children, the United States Food and Drug Administration has issued a policy prioritising enforcement against certain unauthorised flavoured e-cigarette products that appeal to kids, including fruit and mint flavours.

Under this policy, companies that do not cease manufacture, distribution and sale of unauthorised flavoured cartridge-based e-cigarettes (other than tobacco or menthol) within 30 days risk FDA enforcement actions, the regulator said.

“By prioritising enforcement against the products that are most widely used by children, our action seeks to strike the right public health balance by maintaining e-cigarettes as a potential off-ramp for adults using combustible tobacco while ensuring these products don’t provide an on-ramp to nicotine addiction for our youth,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann is stepping down after more than five years in the role. Bill and Melinda Gates have appointed Mark Suzman, the foundation’s president of Global Policy & Advocacy and chief strategy officer, as the new CEO, the Foundation said in a note. Suzman, who joined the Foundation in 2007, will assume his new role on February 1. Suzman has helped build and manage the Foundation’s global presence in Europe, Africa, India, and China, as well as overseeing all government relations, philanthropic partnerships, and strategic communications in the US and globally, the note said.

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