Jennifer Ibrahim, associate dean for academic affairs and associate professor of health services administration and policy, comments on the Food and Drug Administration’s new regulations on the manufacture and sale of electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes.

The FDA’s new guidelines prohibit sales to minors, and require e-cigarette manufacturers to disclose the ingredients used in their products—which are sometimes dangerous toxins. “While there is debate over the utility of e-cigarettes to help traditional smokers reduce consumption of regular cigarettes, there is no debate that the contents of the vials used in e-cigarettes are a black box,” says Ibrahim. "These items are finally being recognized for what they are: a drug delivery device. The new regulations require producers to register with the FDA and disclose the ingredients within the vial—similar to the disclosure required for traditional cigarettes. Just as consumers want to know the ingredients in a food item, it is not unreasonable to want to know what is in an e-cigarette. Vials may contain benzene—which can be found in gasoline and pesticides—and diethylene glycol, which can be found in antifreeze. The new regulations protect minors and provide transparency for adults to make an educated decision about what they are consuming.”