US congress takes strong position on e-cigarettes marketing

A congressional report released on Monday took a strong position regarding the marketing of electronic cigarettes, according to U.S. Media report Wednesday. Electronic cigarettes are battery-powered devices. They heat a liquid nicotine solution that creates vapor. The World Health Organization would like to classify these devices as tobacco under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. U.S. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin said that if the FDA "accepts responsibility for this product as they have for tobacco," it can work towards regulation and establish standards for marketing. There are very few regulations on the advertising of e-cigarettes in America. The FDA can insist on regulations for sales and manufacturing. With sales of e-cigarettes expanding to over 20 million dollars last year, it could be a large change for the industry. Shane Macguill, a tobacco analyst at Euromonitor, said, “It would be damaging to the industry’s capacity to bring in new consumers.”