WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the first few months of 2024, more than a dozen bills have been introduced in US states calling for a state-based Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) registry for alternative nicotine products such as vaping devices, heaters, and nicotine pouches.

Although this type of legislation has already been passed in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Alabama, it’s crucial that other states recognize the unintended consequences and course-correct before it is too late.

ELIZABETH HICKS, US Affairs Analyst at Consumer Choice Center, responded, “While the intention behind these bills is to manage consumer access to unregulated nicotine products on the illicit market, the reality is that the FDA is not approving enough new devices and products to create a competitive, regulated marketplace that meets consumer demand.”

While 26 million nicotine alternative products submitted PMTAs to the FDA, only 23 have been approved. Of those 23 approved products, 12 are simply tobacco-flavored e-liquid refills.

“The FDA is hiding the ball here on product approvals and how few new products are actually coming to market. If the goal is to improve public health across the country, then consumers deserve to choose from a variety of different nicotine alternatives,” added Hicks.

“The FDA’s flawed PMTA process needs reform. Instead of restricting consumer access to products that have been demonstrated to be 95 percent less harmful than combustible tobacco, state legislatures should refrain from adding to counterproductive federal policies and advance tobacco harm reduction through a competitive marketplace,” she concluded.

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The CCC represents consumers in over 100 countries across the globe. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Washington, D.C., Ottawa, Brussels, Geneva, and other hotspots of regulation and inform and activate consumers to fight for  Consumer Choice. Learn more at consumerchoicecenter.org